I love using wood shims or paint stir sticks to create projects. You can get great strips of wood for cheap or free. Then they can be stained or painted to your liking. Today Carmel tackles a wood shim project to make a planter box for her kitchen table.
Hey all, it’s Carmel from Our Fifth House here, and today I’m sharing a quick, simple and easy project – a.k.a my favorite type of diy project! Do you ever see projects in blogland or on Pinterest and think to yourself……..That’s awesome, but I just don’t have time to make that………...I wish I had the diy skills necessary to tackle something like this……….If only this was something I could make while watching Duck Dynasty…….do you ever have those kinds of thoughts when you’re perusing blogs? Well, there’s no shame in your game – I have those same thoughts all the time! Today’s project will take you less than an hour to make, requires practically zero diy skills and can be easily completed while sitting in front of the tv! Now that’s what I’m talking about!
Because I wanted to have the option of filling my planter box with water for fresh cut flowers I knew I wanted a hard plastic liner instead of a box made completely out of wood. Also since I wanted this to sit on my breakfast room table I didn’t want to have to worry about drainage for plants. With the plastic bins on the inside my table stays protected and I have lots of different options for filling this centerpiece. I chose the small itso bins because I liked the size, the price (they were on sale when I bought them), and the sturdiness of the plastic; but you could probably make this with any plastic bin you like.
Here’s the short supply list:
3 small plastic bins
1 package of wood shims
E6000 glue (it’s super strong once dry and is paintable)
miter box and hand saw
pencil
tape
And I wasn’t lying, you can totally make this while watching television. I sure did -that would be How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days on the big screen. 😉
The basic construction is pretty simple. Glue the tops of the bins together where they meet. Then start by gluing the wood shims in the center of where the bins meet to give your 3 separate bins enough support for them to become one unit. You’ll want to do that both at the top and the bottom on both sides.
As for a pattern of how to lay the shims, I just staggered them in a way that would allow me to make the least number of cuts, but you can use any pattern you want. I laid an old beach towel down and cut the pieces – no need to pause my movie. 😉 I covered every bit of plastic with wood shims except for the bottom. I even glued a piece on the top where the plastic bins meet, so the whole thing looks like it’s completely made of wood – you don’t see any of the plastic.
You will want to use painters tape or masking tape ( I used washi because it was all I had on hand) to hold the pieces in place until the glue is totally dry.
To finish I spray painted it white, then sanded, then used a little bit of a walnut stain, then very lightly spray painted it white again to create a slightly distressed look.
Once it was dry I filled it with a layer of sand, then a little pea gravel for good drainage. I added some potting soil and filled it up with mums and pansies. This centerpiece is totally putting me in the mood for fall!
Are you a fan of quick, simple and easy projects? If so, check out this easy monogrammed lampshade, this fun instagram photo display, and this super quick ombre candle!
