D.I.Y. Mini-Pallet Fridge Organizers
Some people pour their heart into every single word they write, so that by the time you reach the signature on the first correspondence you’ve ever shared, you’re old friends. Stef is one of those people. And I know she is going to work her way into your heart, too, especially when you get hit with her out-of-the-box creativity today! The Space Jam soundtrack said it best: “Y’all ready for this?”
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I am beyond delighted for the opportunity to say hello to all of you wonderful Thinking Closet readers today! My name is Stef, and I blog over at Frumpy Bumpkin Designs, a place where paint-stained britches & sassy craft-making are highly encouraged. SO happy to be in such good company as Lauren is one of my favorite bloggers with the sweetest of hearts. Pretty sure we all share a mutual BFF and should exchange bracelets and complicated handshakes ASAP!
My idea today was inspired by Lauren’s Menu Planner To Rule Them All in all of its magnetic, organizing glory! This sweet gem will make life so much easier once the kids are back in school, so I need to get a move on making my own!
In light of the fast-approaching school year, I thought it would be fun to share an organization idea incorporating a fridge magnet, wooden pallet crate, and some down-right purdy personalization.
My favorite part of this project was making up old, crate-worthy companies using the names of our kiddos.
By adding some of IKEA’s Dignitet Curtain Clips, we are able to clip artwork to the front.
Are you ready for the how-to? SO exciting!
SUPPLIES
- Sheet of 1/4″ plywood (you’ll need at least a 1’x2′ board per crate)
- Circular saw & drill
- Wood glue (I use *Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Glue MAX)
- Wood clamps
- Carpenter’s square or tape measure
- Pencil, pen, paint brushes, & paper towels
- Sandpaper – 60 grit (a sander is recommended but not required)
- Magnetic Hook (9 lbs. capacity)
- Paint (I like using chalk & acrylic paints) & Clear Furniture Wax (Annie Sloan Soft Wax is great)
- Furniture Stain (Minwax Provincial is my favorite)
- *Graphite paper for lettering
- IKEA’s Dignitet Curtain Clips (optional)
TUTORIAL
- Begin by gathering your plywood, carpenter’s square & a pencil to get started with your measurements. Here is a breakdown of what you will need to measure out for cutting:
- After you have cut out all 8 of your pieces. you’ll want to give each piece a nice sanding around the edges. Run a strip of glue along the sides and bottom of your 10″x12″ board and attach the side and bottom pieces as seen below.
- You can apply clamps at this stage to be sure you are getting a good seal. After the glue has dried, I recommend deciding if you are going to paint or possibly just stain your crate and covering these pieces with whatever finish you are doing (from experience, it’s hard to paint in the cracks once your cross pieces are glued on). Once that finish is dry, go ahead and glue on your cross pieces, using clamps to hold it all together.
- Once dried, apply the same finish to the cross pieces before moving on to lettering.
- It feels like there are a gazillion ways to do lettering…who has a round-up on that? I say that because my way is not necessarily the easiest, I’ve just done it so many times and am too set in my ways to try anything else. {Smile.} It starts by creating how you want your sign to look on a Word document and once you are happy with it, printing it out on regular paper.
- You can find *graphite paper at most art supply stores. I use black graphite paper for dark lettering on a light-colored surface and white graphite paper for lighter color letters on a dark surface. These are fabulous because you can use them over, and over, and over again. Position your printed-out letters where you want them on your wood surface and tape them down. Slide the graphite paper underneath with the dark side facing the wood.
- Trace the letters with a somewhat-pointy pen. You can check to make sure it’s transferring by carefully lifting up a corner, being sure not to move your tape. Once you’ve finished tracing your letters, it should look something like this:
- You can then paint in your letters with your paint of choice.
- Time for some waxing! Apply small amounts of your clear furniture wax with a towel. You’ll then want to buff the wax with a clean cloth to make sure it sets.
- Once you have applied and buffed your wax, you can use your sandpaper to distress the surface. I do a very soft sand on the letters and go for the edges with a little more gusto, being sure to go the direction of the wood grain.
- Once finished, guess what time it is? Oh, you are good. Bring on the wax again! Repeat the waxing process we discussed previously.
- I wanted to add some color to my crates, but didn’t want it to be too overpowering. A coat of colored wax totally did the trick! I didn’t have the colors of chalk paint I wanted, nor did I want to make any, so I experimented by mixing 2 teaspoons of acrylic paint to a tablespoon of clear wax. This worked great!
- Using a paper towel, scoop up a bit of your mixture and rub it on your wood surface, exactly like you did the waxing before but keeping in mind you have control as to how much you rub off and how much you leave on.
- The surface of the wood should start to take in the color nicely.
- Again, the hardest part of the process was painting through the “cracks” of the crate so if you can finish the interior before gluing on the cross pieces, that would be ideal. I topped my wax surface with a little Minwax Provincial stain (brush on a little and quickly rub off with a towel) for an antiqued look.
Was I happy with the results? Oh, you betcha. Absolutely happy!
- Now for the part you have all been waiting for. How the heck to make that heavy thing stick to the fridge!! Avoid my trials and tribulations, and skip the regular magnets and even the “stronger” smaller magnets, and go straight to this guy (found at Lowe’s):
- Holds 9 lbs.? Fantastic!! But what about that pesky hook that we have no need for? Great news…it unscrews!!
- I marked the spot on the back of the crate where the circular nut on the magnet could fit into and drilled a hole using a matching-sized drill bit.
- I used a bit of *Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Glue to secure the magnet to the back of the crate. It worked great!
- To Make the IKEA curtain clips rest on the edge of the crate, I used pliers to open up the back a bit, just so it was wide enough to fit over the edge.
VOILA!
The kids love having a special place to put their papers and hang their artwork.
And there you have it! A big thank you to sweet Lauren for the opportunity to share an idea today…this was so much fun to put together!
Would love to hear what you think! Please stop by and visit anytime to check out more D.I.Y. projects, including ones like this Chandelier Bird Feeder made with plastic clothes hangers…
or check out how to make a Pallet Wreath like this one…
Wishing you all the best!
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These look terrific and thanks for the great tutorial.
So glad you enjoyed, David! That Stef is a talented one.
Just pinned this project…now to get a circular saw! 🙂
My favorite part was your favorite part…you making up the old, crate-worthy companies using the names of your kiddos.
Will have to take a peak at your blog site as that chandelier bird-feeder is amazing!
Thanks for sharing this great idea here at the Thinking Closet!
Oh, I love th elook of these Mini Pallets!! I can totally see to have one for my mail by the front door! I definitely have too keep it in mind 🙂
Love, Midsommarflicka
I cannot tell you how much in love with these I am!!!
Thanks Loads for sharing!
Heidi
These are SO cool! I love how the wax mixture worked, definitely going to have to try that 🙂
Yay!! Thanks, Breanna! So many of the things I try are on the epic craft fail list so I was pretty happy this one turned out! 🙂 Love your furniture transformations – you do beautiful work!!
AMAZING!! Love this project so much! Stef, you have a new follower hon 🙂 I like your style!
Aww, thanks Kirsten!! On my way to check out your site as well! Really appreciate such sweet feedback and hope you have a wonderful weekend!