Easy Numbered Crate

Sound the horns! I actually created a project that I pinned!

If you’ve been following for over a year, you might remember that my big project last March was my pantry makeover. If not, you can check out the before/after pictures here. I never completely finished my to-do list (big shocker, I know), but now I’m back, a year later, with a pantry project.
One of the best updates I made to the pantry was organizing everything into jars, baskets, and crates. It keeps everything more organized and it just looks less cluttered. Last year I bought a couple crates from Hobby Lobby to hold chips and rags and I’d planned to buy a couple more to hold the rest of the towels and cleaning supplies. But eventually I moved on to other projects and forgot about the pantry until I saw this crate project from Kelli at Lolly Jane:

Not only are they cute (and functional), they are also cheap and easy to make! The crates are regularly $11.99 at Joann’s, but are only about $7 after your handy 40%-off coupon. I lucked out and got a 50%-off coupon in my e-mail, so I only paid $6.53 (including tax) for my crate.
I stained the crate Dark Walnut, which I already had on hand. Then I used my Silhouette to cut out the letters and number.

I used some CraftSmart Robin’s Egg Blue that I had leftover from my painted pot herb garden to paint the letters and numbers. I only did one coat of paint and then removed the vinyl stencil as soon as I was done painting. After the paint dried I lightly sanded it with very fine sandpaper. This is a great way to make it look more aged and hide any mistakes (paint bleeding under the stencil, brush marks).

I love how it turned out! I’m already planning another trip to Joann’s (with another coupon) to buy one more crate for the pantry!
Here’s my cleaning supplies shelf before:

And here’s how it looks with my new crate! It definitely looks more organized and less cluttered!

Thanks Kelli for sharing such a great find and an easy transformation! You can see Kelli’s crate project here and her amazing craft storage system here.



11 comments

  1. I love this!! I wanna make a bunch for my *future* tv stand to hold DVDs. Mostly because I hate movie boxes... are you planning on making more for the rest of your cabinet? I like how snazzy it looks! I also now really want to organize my stuff....

    Yay! Pinterest!

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  2. I love this idea!I am so happy to have just found your blog and to be your newest follower!! :)
    :) Rebecca
    www.caravansonnet.com

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  3. This is so beautiful! I love the dark walnut stain too and how it's darker every other piece. Did you mean to do that?

    It made me giggle when you said everything now "appears" to be organized! Ha, but even though you might not have gone through your stuff the crate totally does make it more organized because now you are less likely to forget about things in the back...

    And I've seen these crates at Joann's so many times but haven't bought one yet...thanks for showing me how adorable they look painted!!!

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    Replies
    1. The wood on every other slat of the crate had a different texture (one was smooth and the other rough), so they stained differently. It was a happy accident!

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  4. PS. I heart new background... new sign thingy... and new button.
    However it makes me want to make mine fancy. Please. tell me your ways. haha

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  5. Eek!! You changed your blog design! I love it! The little house on top of the h - adorable!!

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  6. Wow! Your project looks like an exact replica of the original pin! Mine rarely turn out like the original :) I love this idea for organizing, I think they would look great in my laundry room. I am hosting a friday favorites link up tomorrow at my blog, createdbysk.blogspot.com, and I would love if you considered linking up.

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  7. Love the idea of using the crate to organize!! Thanks for sharing this fun project!

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  8. What is this silhouette that you speak of???? I'm in lurve!!!

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    Replies
    1. It's an electric cutting machine. You can read more about it here:
      http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/?page=what-can-you-make

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  9. Adorable! I should make one of these.

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