This month, as part of the Lowe’s Creative Blogger team, we were given the challenge to create some Holiday décor items. I always enjoy these challenges because it gives me an opportunity to finally get some of these projects that are constantly swirling around my head, out of my head and in my home.
And I am especially excited about this project…a vintage DIY crate! I have actually spent some time looking around for some of these crates but couldn’t find exactly what I wanted and so I had toyed with the idea of making my own. But wasn’t quite sure how to go about it.
So with this month’s #LowesCreator challenge, I decided that this would be the perfect time to try my hand at making a “vintage” crate.
I picked up some tounge and groove pine boards at Lowe’s and cut off the “tounges” and “grooves” by simply running the boards through our saw. I picked these boards because they are really thin and inexpensive.
For the front and back of the crate, I cut 6 of these boards so that I had:
6 boards that measured 3.5 inches by 24 inches.
They are 1/4 inch thick.
Then I made 6 more boards that measured 3.5 inches by 7.5 inches for the sides of the crate.
Then I cut a piece of a pine board 7 x 24 inches. This is the bottom of the crate.
Then to make the corner supports of the box, I cut 4—7 inch pieces a of 1.5 x 1.5 board.
What…You don’t work in your pajamas? :) My little girl takes pretty good pictures…don’t you think?
Then you will need to nail your crate together. I didn’t use any wood glue on this project, but you can if you want.
I started with the bottom and one of the front pieces and nailed them together. Then I nailed on the back piece to the bottom.
Then you can nail on both sides. Be careful to hold your box exactly where you want it so that it maintains a nice rectangular shape.
Then I nailed the corner supports in and finished nailing the other two front planks to the corner supports. I chose to leave a tiny space in between each plank to give it a more vintage feel.
After the front is nailed, I added the side planks so that I could match them up with the front. When nailing these on, be sure to keep your corner pieces straight. This is very important to the overall finish of your vintage crate.
Then finally, you will nail the back planks on. This crate is made so that the sides of the crate planks actually show on the front and the back of the crate. I thought this would help with the overall vintage look. Now your crate is done! Yay!!
To add a label I simply printed out this old vintage stamp that I found in the online Silhouette store. I transferred it over onto the wood with the old trick of drawing on the back of the design in pencil and then coloring over the top of it so that it ends up on the wood. Pretty high tech!
Then you simply need to draw the design with a black Sharpie.
Throw a layer of stain on your crate ( I used a walnut colored stain)…and you have a beautiful vintage DIY crate!
I was surprised at how easy this crate was to build. And was really happy with the overall results. I love being able to make something JUST the way I want.
I added some pine branches and a berry garland to glam it up and threw in a couple of candles. As always be super careful when using candles. And…since I took these pictures, I actually threw a string of white battery powered Christmas lights to give it some more holiday sparkle.
When the holidays are over, I can replace what is in the crate so it can be in my home all year long.
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*I was given a Lowe’s gift card for the supplies to make this crate. However all opinions and statements are mine.
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Kara says
I love how it turned out Amy! I’m a fan of working in my pajamas too. You gotta be comfortable when you’re workin’! :)
Amy says
Thanks Kara! I do my best work in my pajamas…but they have to be cute ones :)
Beautiful!! I love the way it turned out and I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who gets crafty in my fuzzy pants! : )
Thanks MaryLea! You are not alone. Jeans aren’t as conducive to creative flow :)
Exactly I also never ashamed of what makes me comfortable.
That would really be neat for your kindling to. Would be really neat to have it right there so you can grab it to build your fire. I really like it! GOOD job jommers and all! lol
I love this idea Rose! You really could use it year round, just change what you put inside!
Kindling is a great idea to keep in there! The box is so versatile and you can build it the exact size you want.
Very cute! Im loving rustic this Christmas myself! Thanks!
I am totally into pairing rustic with classic and dressing it up a bit.
I think it would be cute with a “North Pole” stamp! What stain did you use? Thanks!
Whaaa? I LOVE that idea!! With some fun wrapped gifts in it would be so fun! Hmmm. I do have some leftover pine boards :)
Love it! Don’t worry right now I basically live in my pjs after just having a baby!
Oh! Do I remember those days. Enjoy it! They grow up so fast. My baby is now 5 and I swear she was just born. Give that new baby a squeeze for me. I miss mine!
so pretty! i love this display!
thanks Kellie!
This is fantastic, I absolutely love it! Kudos!
I am coming to embrace the fact that I am not a DIYer but I can totally appreciate the tutorial. If you feel compelled to make another, I’d be happy to give it a home. :-)
Ha! I will let you know if I get around to it ;)
Amy, I LOVE this! It turned out so great! Can’t wait to see all the #LowesCreator posts this month! And, I love to see that I’m not the only one who DIYs in my comfy clothes! :)
Thanks Sara! I Love your trees! This time of year is so fun to decorate and create for!
so pretty and I love how you can use it all year!
Thanks for the inspiration. I was just given two ammo boxes yesterday and wasn’t sure what to do with them. Now I know!
Oh fun! Ammo boxes are great! Thanks so much for stopping by!
No problem. Glad I could give you one idea back for all the inspiration you’ve given me! Love your blog.
Such a great idea! Thanks for sharing and maybe I will get some motivation to make one :)
Totally off topic…..but where did you get your Christmas Stockings? I love them!
And how do you give a vintage look to the crate?
Love love love this and want to make one this weekend. What kind of tongue and groove did you use? The only ones I saw didn’t have a flat surface.
I’ve featured this project on my latest post of my most pinned “pins” of the week! Thank you for sharing!
http://glamorousbride.blogspot.com/2012/12/fab-pins-of-week.html
Fotini
Amy I must be missing something, but if I use three pieces of wood that measure 3.5″ in width for the sides or front/back, and leave a small space, the height will not be 7″ it will be more like 10.5″ plus [3.5 x 3 = 10.5]. You use 4 corner pieces that measure 1.5 x 1.5 x 7″ and either the boards are only 2.5″ wide or you used a 10.5″ plus board for each corner.
Thanks for posting these fun ideas that I can do with wooden crates. Creating a Christmas crate that’s filled with pine leaves and holly seems like a really cute idea. I like the vintage Paris Distribution stamp on the front, so I might want to use that idea for a cute crate for decorating my home for the holidays.
So happy you enjoyed this post! Thank You so much!
I know this post is from mannny years ago, but I just got here! I love it!
Wendy, so happy you are following along now. Welcome!