Monday, March 31, 2014

MAKE IT MONDAY - PALLET TRAY

So I am a huge fan of crafting and do it yourself projects.  I mean there is just something about making something fabulous especially when it costs you nothing like the project below...

Recently my fiancee and I were able to score some free pallet wood ( some of it is not the best condition ), but the wheels in my head immediately started turning in my head.  I immediately had to go to my fav website - Pinterest and search pallet projects.  I found tons of project possibilities, but I decided to start small with a pallet tray.

Now the one I took inspiration from was actually pinned from Etsy, but they are tons of different designs of em.  Now I was not planning to write a tutorial for this so I am sad to say I didn't take any step by step photos but it is really an easy project.



Items Needed


  • Pallet(s)
  • Handles
  • Tape Measure
  • Saw
  • Hammer/ Drill
  • Nails or Screws
  • Sander or Sandpaper


First you need a pallet with good boards.  This seems so simple but we had a few boards that were warped and wouldn't work.  After finding the perfect pallet, break it down.  You can do this a couple of ways.  we chose to take a hammer and knock the boards loose, but we also considered just cutting them loose.  Now this step does not take long at all.

Next we decided how long I wanted it to be and I decided on 24 inches.  Now to figure out how wide I wanted it, I eyeballed it.  We ended up laying 4 boards side by side ( our boards were really not that wide ).  The tray ended up being just over 14 inches wide.  So next you have to cut... You will need 3 or 4 boards cut to your desired length ( Mine was 24 inches which I think is a great length.) and you will need to boards to be cut to the width of the other boards.

After you cut all the boards, now is the time to sand them.  Also you can primer and paint them if desired now too.  I chose not to paint cause I love the look of the wood after we sanded it.  I would recommend using a sander of some sort just simply to save time and energy.

Now after your wood is sanded and dried if needed, you need to assemble the handles.  Now I had handles on hand from an old storage cube that I got rid of so these were on hand, but you can find them at your local hardware store for pretty cheap ( I plan to make some for gifts so I plan to use different hardware to fit each person's personality).  You need to install the handles in the middle of the boards that you will be using to hold the tray together.  Now you may have to countersink your screws for your handles, but luckily for me my screws were flat so the board laid flat on the other boards.  After you install the handles, you assemble the other boards and either screw or hammer them to the boards with the handles.  Now we used nails because my screws would not work ( I plan to redo the project and use screws and different handles ).  I recommend screws even though we used nails.  Of course we drilled holes first because pallet wood can crack easily or at least it has on our past projects.

All in all I love my pallet tray and in fact have my laptop on it right now so it also makes a handle little lapdesk!  So let me know if you have made a pallet tray before or if you are plannin on  making one.

Also I am wanting to make "MAKE IT MONDAY" a weekly post so let me know if you guys like them or not please!


Friday, March 21, 2014

DRUMROLL PLEASE... AND THE WINNER IS ...

First sorry for the delay in getting the winner of the Baggage Claim giveaway announced.  Things have been crazy busy around my household, but hopefully things have calmed down now.  Now without further ado...  the WINNER...


BRENDA ELSNER

Congrats Brenda!  And of course thanks to everyone who entered and be sure to keep your eyes open for my upcoming giveways!

Brenda, be sure to check your email today for my email!


GET HEART HEALTHY with CAMPBELL'S

* This post is sponsored by Campbell's Soup Company.

My family unfortunately has a history of heart problems so as a mom of three, I try to make it a priority to take care of myself and my family.  One way I do that of course is by eating healthy.  This helps both myself and my family since I am hoping not to face the same problems other members of my family have.  Now Campbell's is wanting to help others like myself eat "Heart Healthy" with some delicious recipes.  Below are a few of my favorite ( be sure to check em out and enjoy!)




The great thing about all the recipes above are that they are Certified by the American Heart Association for being " Heart Healthy!"

Health is foremost on people’s minds, keeping your family in tip top shape can be a challenge in these busy times. Campbell’s Soup wants you to “Address Your Heart” with Heart Healthy Tips, recipes and more!
Visit AddressYourHeart.com to get heart-healthy tips, including 21 Campbell’s recipes that are certified by the AHA and product coupons, as well as Facebook.com/campbellskitchen for the latest Campbell’s recipes and offers.  Also be sure to check out Campbell's Kitchen for valuable coupons and offers as well.  So Campbell's is definitely making it really easy to become Heart Healthy!!!  So let's all get HEART HEALTHY!