12 x 12 storage and magazine rack.

Hi all, really quick post to show the easiest 12 x 12 project there is.....a wooden pallet rack that can take 12 x 12's and magazines, or indeed anything you crafty lot hoard these days. (Yes i know what a craft room gets like!).

So we have our humble wooden pallet....doesn't matter if some of it is beat up like this one, you're only using an end of it...

Cut off an end that is two slats thick, you can do three if you want but it's a little too deep to get the paper out....

Either leave it like that and give it a sand, or give it a little wavy effect with a jigsaw, i also carved a few notches around the edge and used a hole saw too as i like the way the colours show through from the papers and mags....like i say though, give it all a sand otherwise you WILL get splinters off of these rough pallets...

Once thats done, give it a lick of paint, and hey presto.....one quick and easy storage idea...

I fogot to say, i have'nt done it here, but don't forget to put some sort of base on the bottom, otherwise your papers will fall through....i didn't bother here as i wanted to blog it quick.

Of course you can fancy this up as much as you want, stamp on it, paint on it, do whatever you want. If it's too rough a project too have in your craft room, maybe use it in the garden or shed.

Just an idea.

Hope it gives you some ideas.....take care,

Calv.

Wooden pallet potting bench

Hi all, hope you are all well...

Yesterday i decided to alter something, ok it's not really a crafty project but it kept me out of mischief for a couple of hours. I've often read about projects made from old wooden pallets, there are many ideas out there on the web if you search for them.

So after my local hardware shop advertised free pallets, i picked up a couple and set about making a new addition to my garden....a potting bench. The project took just one pallet...

I then cut it lengthways, i made the top a little wider than the base...there were a couple of spare slats from another pallet so i used these as the supports either side and a couple more to slot into the gaps on the bench surface...

So thats the basic shape....i may put a middle shelf in there at some point but this is ok for now. I felt my garden was lacking in colour though, so i found an old pot of pale lilac paint in the shed...only did one coat as if it gets worn quickly it will add to a nice rustic effect...

I was eager to test it out, so after adding a couple of hooks underneath to hold garden tools, here is the finished bench...

Not bad for a quick little storage project for the garden. I'm just getting into gardening and it will be a great place for me to plant seeds and deal with plants. Yes i'm aware that it probably won't stay that colour long, but it's for potting plants, not for the catwalk...a little dirt here and there will be a nice addition i think.

Talking of storage, whilst i was chopping this pallet up, i looked at the holes between the main wooden supports and thought to myself, "They would make a good magazine rack". So if you look at the bottom shelf above, imagine that on it's own, turned on it's side so it's standing up, if you cut the pallet about 2 slats wide and put a base on it, it could hold magazines easily.

Maddy took one look at it, and said, "I wonder if it could take 12 x 12 papers?". Lets find out....

Would you look at that! The spaces are just over 13 inches wide, so your papers fit in there lovely. Again, picture this turned on it's side and a base put on it, you could store tons of papers here. I'll do a better tutorial for a 12 x 12 paper storage from a used pallet another day.

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed it. I'm now off to casualty to get my ankle x-rayed....whilst making this yesterday i twisted my ankle badly and it's black and blue and like a balloon!

Take care all...

Calv.

Better late than never...

I'm always late when it comes to planting stuff in the garden, my gardening year usualy starts around August time....i'll decide to do something with my flower beds and thats as far as the plan goes.

This year is not much different, however i have made progress with a patch i want to use for veggies. I'm so fed up with the price of basic vegetables, especialy salad leaves, so i'm getting into the whole growing lark. It will be major trial and error for me, but i have read up on a few tips from books and websites, plus i have a few people close to me who know what they are doing if i go drasticaly wrong.

So after sifting through what seems like a weeks worth of roots and stones, i now have a few small beds prepared ready for stuff to be planted. I already have strawberrys and tomatos growing nicely in the jute hanging planters on the fence and in the hanging baskets. I'm trying some upside down growning this year....

As usual the bees were taking great interest, and i had my first new resident of my new solitary beehive (yes another one...i made this one myself), so he was packing his nest nice and tight with mud and leaves ready for his babies....

We now have a sunflower competition going on, me and my girls, and Maddy and her girls (and Maddy's mum all have a sunflower seed in a pot, even the dogs have one. :) I will be keeping a close eye on the growing to make sure it's fair...i'll keep you informed of thier progress.

As for my kids helping me.....my youngest spent ages working her little fingers to the bone and produced some quality work to be proud of...

Ah well, they do say that gardening is all about love and care don't they?

Any hints and tips most welcome as i am very much a novice gardener.....also if you have any tips on how to slap blogger so it works properly for me....i'd be most gratefull.

Thanks for stopping buy....hopefully i'll have something crafty to show next time.