My First Crate

I have been wanting to build a crate for awhile now and finally the opportunity came when our school was doing an online auction.  They requested a basket to sell/store the "fun in the sun" collection of things and I knew this was my chance to build for a good cause.

I started cutting the boards and side supports at 24" long and 18" long and planned it to be 18"tall (they wanted it BIG).

I used wood glue and my 16 gauge nail gun to put the sides of the crate together.  I followed that by cutting a bottom out of a solid piece of 1/2" plywood using my bench saw and jig saw.  Yes, that is my wood stash in the background.

I glued and nailed on the bottom and now I was ready to stain it.

I decided to use my vinegar and steel wool stain to give the wood a more antiqued look.

When I first finished the stain it was too dark so I added a white wash by just lightly brushing on some white paint.  I used some homemade rope my boys made at a scout activity and drilled holes that I tied the rope through.  I lightly melted the fibers at the end of the rope to reduce any fraying in the future.  I was really pleased and the crate was a hit at the auction.  Get out there and  build yourself a storage box, I can't wait to build one for myself!  

I my husband and I throw a Halloween treasure hunt party every year.  Because we have 30-40 people at our house for the night I love to have new decorations.  This year I made 3 based on designs I found on Pinterest (you have to love the resource of Pinterest).  Here are this years creations!

I made these cute candy corn decorations with 2 X 4' 's.  I love how they stack up and look rustic.  If I were to make them again I would make the angle I cut the wood more extreme on one of them so there would be a greater height difference but I am still very happy with how they turned out.  You can find directions here: Candy Corn tutorial


I couldn't stop with just the candy corn so I looked around my building stash and came across a great white cupboard door.  With a broom from one of our local home decorating stores and some hooks I spray painted I created this.

The picture is fuzzy but you get the idea.  This is the project that inspired me Broom parking sign


I also updated our photo wall with cute Halloween inspired pictures.

I made my 31st sign with a black plastic serving tray like what a catering company would bring food on to an event.  I glued a frame hook on the back and Ta Da!  To see the pictures more clearly check out this link: Spooky family pictures

I made a few other projects that I hope to post soon so check back for more Halloween updates.