Projects 4 Fun

Drink Umbrella Wreath

Supplies:

* 18" grapevine wreath
* Approx 50 drink umbrellas (available at your local party store; I got a container of 72)
* Burlap string or any type of string to hang
* Possibly some hot glue

1. Wrap the burlap string or any string you prefer to hang with around the top so you don't have to do that later.
2. Then it's as easy as putting the umbrellas into spots of the wreath that work, pull the umbrellas open to different sizes until the wreath is full.
** You may have to use some glue to help some of the umbrellas stick if they are loose.
3. Enjoy during the beautiful summer :)

Takes maybe 10/15 minutes at most!

Drink umbrella wreath

Patriotic Wreath

Supplies:
* 14" styrofoam wreath
* Red yarn
* White yarn
* 1 1/2" blue ribbon; comes on spool of about 12'
* White felt
* Hot glue or any type of glue
* Scissors





1. Wrap wreath with white yarn all the way around, tying at the end and hiding in back.
2. Wrap red around sections of wreath, judge distance of red sections by eye. Again tying sections off in back of wreath.
3.  Wrap blue ribbon around side portion of wreath, hot gluing at ends to keep in place.
4. Create stars using white felt, cut out and hot glue to blue portion of wreath.
5. Wrap blue ribbon around top and tie with a bow to hang.
6. Enjoy the patriotic look :)

A huge salute to Sarah for sharing! 

  

PALLET TABLE


Materials:   

* 2 pallets (make sure they are the same size- check craigslists for FREE pallets)

* Stain (bought mine from Lowes and it was stain and waterproofing in one- $15 for 1 qt.)

* Medium-sized paint brush (we had many to choose from, but this allowed me to get between the slats)

* 4 casters (I bought 2 ½ inch casters with brakes…size doesn’t matter, just make sure they will hold the weight-$8)

* Nails (enough to attach the pallets together & the 4 casters…note, the casters didn’t come with hardware but we had plenty of nails leftover from other projects so I didn’t need to purchase any)

Total for project = $23

I removed the center slat of the top pallet before starting.  This is optional.  My plan is to use this space for ice, wine, beer, or other drinks.  I will post pics after our first party!  You could also fill it with a bunch of cute flowers.  I found plastic bins at the Dollar Store that fit quite well…not sure I’m sold on them yet so I am still looking. 

1.        STAIN the pallets.

REMEMBER TO STAIN THE PALLETS BEFORE attaching them together.  I know, sounds like common sense, but I was so excited to start & my hubby wanted his shed space back that I attached them first.  Plus, the hubs gave me my first lesson using the drill!  I only needed one coat of stain & it dried overnight.  Make sure to cover every part of the pallet so the outdoor elements don’t warp or ruin your work.  I used a medium sized paint brush to apply the stain and worked well.      

2.       ATTACH the pallets.

In some of the pics and vague directions I found for this project, it listed 4 x 4s & breaking apart the one pallet.  I kept it super simple.  I stacked the 2 pallets on top of one another, making sure they were the same size & lined up.  I put the nicer looking one on top.  I didn’t need to cut or add pieces or worry about another step.  Plus, I was still able to create shelves to store magazines, napkins, the boys’ toys, etc. J  (Obviously only for when we are outside. You wouldn’t want to keep anything on the shelves overnight.)

 

3.        ADD CASTERS to bottom pallet.

I put the pallets on a drop cloth to stain and kept them there to attach the casters.  Really easy!  Used nails & drill to attach them near the corners of the bottom side of the bottom pallet.  You will probably need someone to help you maneuver the attached pallets.  THEY ARE HEAVY!  Love the brake feature because when the boys lean on the table it won’t move or scratch the flagstone patio. 

The hubby’s birthday was in May and he really wanted the plastic Adirondack chairs.  (We’d love the real deal ones, but at $40-$80 a chair, we’ll pass.)  Turns out I LOVE the look of the plastic chairs.  They are durable and comfy and easy to clean.  Oh yeah, and for $16 a chair at Lowes, the right price (especially when we live in a climate where summer appears for 4 months of the year if we are lucky!). The chairs are the perfect height for the pallet table. 

Hoping you’ll be inspired to tackle this project.  It truly was easy.  I was intimidated at first and kept pushing it off…so glad I didn’t wait until the end of the summer to do it.  I would have missed months of actually enjoying the space on the patio during the sizzling summer days and, my favorite, the warm summer nights.  Happy building!