Standing Pallet {Garden}

Pallets, pallets, pallets! We all either have one or wish we had one so we could tackle one of those thousands of awesome pallet projects out there. Here is an easy project that does not involve power tools. Big smile on my face!

Please forgive my lack of photos. I totally wasn't thinking and forgot to take them while my husband and I were putting this together.

Materials needed:

• A pallet
• Weed barrier
• A staple gun
• Potting soil
• Plants (Preferably trailing plans)

Step one:

Cover whatever side is going to be the back of your pallet with weed barrier, stapling it to each horizontal and vertical board. Staple around the bottom and the sides as well but leave the top open. Try to leave as little space as possible between staples so dirt does not fall through the gaps. You are essentially trying to make a "wall" on the back of your pallet.

Step Two:

Lay the pallet on the ground, back side down near the area in which it will be displayed. It will be hard to move once it is filled with dirt. Begin filling the pallet with soil between the slats, leveling out the soil with your hands or a trowel. 

Step Three:

Once you have filled the pallet almost completely, you may now begin planting your plants. Make sure to tightly pack the dirt around the plants. Any empty space will cause the soil to shift when you stand the pallet up. 

Step Four: 

Here's the sad part. Let you pallet rest flat on the ground for about a week so that the roots have time to establish. I know I was eager to stand mine up right away, but the soil will simply fall right out if you skip this step.

Once you feel as if your plants have had time to take root, you're ready to stand that baby up! I placed mine on some extra paver stones we had to add visual interest. At this point, you can also add flowers in the top area of your pallet. I haven't gotten there yet.

Now, watering can be a little tricky. You may tip your pallet down while you water which will allow you to water the dirt well without the soil going everywhere. I kind of cheat and just water it while it is standing up. I use a watering can and try to be gentle with the soil. I haven't had any problems. Once my plants had grown to a good size, it became increasingly easier to water them. Everything sort of stays in place.

As you can see in the photo, I have since added more plants to my garden. They grow well and are extremely easy to care for. Just remember to tip the pallet back down before you plant new flowers.

Have fun!

Finding a Use for It: {Egg Cartons}

During Hubby's last business trip, I took on the task of cleaning out our pantry.  We have a HUGE pantry.  Way more room than we actually need.  With extra room comes the apparent need to try to fill all of that space, whether it be with actual pantry goods or...just whatever happens to end up in there. (like a leather shoe care kit???? not sure.)

I ended up with a large trash bag full of, well, trash. : )  Chip bags containing only crumbs, Bisquick with an ancient expiration date, multiples of the same product with meager remains in each container.  It was very interesting and showed me what I bought on an impulse.  

So after all of the trash was gone, I moved on to organizing.  Over the last year or so, I have clung onto my egg cartons, refusing to throw them away.  With all of the amazing ideas out there for repurposing egg cartons,  I though surely that I would apply one of them.  But there I was, staring at a half dozen or more un-repurposed cartons.  "Hmmmmm.....what could I use these for?" I asked myself. Then it came to me.

You know those nifty organizer shelves that lift the back row of cans into view making it easier to see what you actually have in your pantry?  Egg cartons do the same job beautifully!  They are steady and can hold a pretty good amount of weight.  I used ALL of my cartons for this purpose.  Here are a couple of pictures.

I was very proud of myself and expect Real Simple to be knocking at my door any day.  My pantry is gorgeously organized, and I can SEE everything.


Keep having a lovely summer and knock off some of those items on your to-do list : )

From Mailing Box to {Music} Organizer

I've promised a post about my new music shelf which I am entirely excited to share with you.  If you are not already aware, music does not come printed on standard 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper.  They are slightly larger and thus, do not fit within many normal bookshelves.  Sometimes I'll find a bookshelf with one extra large shelf and then the other standard size.  Just won't work.  

I was shopping at a discount store a few weeks ago and came across a bookshelf that had THREE large shelves.  The bottom shelf even held a canvas box! Price: $30.  I could definitely swing that one.  So happy was I to finally find a shelf that would hold my music that I took it home with me and assembled it right away.  It was perfect and I found the perfect place for it in my house, very near our piano.

In order to store my massive amounts of sheet music on this shelf, I had planned to use magazine holders.  Otherwise, the music would just fall over and become a huge unorganized mess. But have you ever checked out the price for magazine holders? Ain't cheap! So onto plan B.

I have to give the credit for this project to Kim from Too Much Time On My Hands.  She was the one who came up with this incredible repurpose in the first place and her boxes are adorable. Thanks, Kim.

Lying in my craft room, ready to be reused were some flat rate boxes that came to my home bearing birthday, anniversary, and Christmas gifts. I always keep boxes like these because they hold up so well in the mail and can easily be folded, put away, and reused later. 

I used a magazine holder that I already had as a template and cut the box into the desired shape.  I then used some brown patterned paper I got at the Dollar Tree (once again, love that place) and Mod Podged it onto the boxes.  Brush the Mod Podge on very thinly or else that paper will bubble.  As a little embellishment, I glued ribbon and leaf cutouts that matched the pattern on the paper.  Here is my new sheet music bookshelf!

Linking to:

Chocolate Drool and Kisses

From Simply Orange to Simply Functional

A few weeks ago, I started paying attention to empty containers that I usually wouldn't think twice about throwing away.  That's when I noticed these Simply Orange (and Lemonade) containers.  I thought they were lovely.  So I began with this....

and ended up with this...

functional and adorable book ends.

I first took off the labels with the help of Goo Gone.  Next, I literally sawed off the part that you screw the lid onto.  THAT was fun! If you try this, please be careful. 

My next step was spray painting them.  I used flat white spray paint.  You'll need several coats because the light just keeps shining through them if it's not on thick enough. 

Then I printed off my letters onto card stock using American Typewriter font.  I cut the letters out and Mod Podged them on.

They were still too light to use as book ends, so I filled them with stones.  Total cost: $3.78 for the spray paint. I love repurposing and have found myself keeping everything!! I'm so thankful my husband is understanding.  Thanks, Babe!!

Linking to these awesome blogs:

Embellishing Life

Craft-o-Maniac

Polka Dots on Parade

The Shabby Nest

Coastal Charm

Not Just a House Wife