Wooden Planters – Quick and Easy DIY
Hello and welcome back! My blogger buddies and I are back at it again this month bringing you another quick and easy 10-min DIY. This month’s theme was planters and I built a couple of modern looking wooden planters that only took 10 min to throw together from scrap plywood. They are going to be used in my outdoor courtyard that we are getting ready to give a total makeover (stay tuned)!
When we decided on the theme for this challenge, I immediately remembered two cacti that the kids had bought a while back and I stuck in the top of a closet to get out of the way until I replanted them. I should say, I do NOT have a green thumb. Luckily, they still looked great and I decided this was the perfect challenge to get them out of the closet. They took about 10 min to build, and a little more to finish. First, I grabbed some plywood scraps laying around.
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I set the table saw fence and cut two boards the same size. Moved it in a bit and cut two more smaller pieces that were the same size. I left the fence on the long side of the smaller pieces and then cut a square piece for the bottom. Make sure the square side is the same length as the long side of the smaller piece.
Next, I drilled pocket holes on the small side pieces and bottom.
Then, I attached the bottom to the smaller sides. Pocket holes are on the bottom.
Then, I attached the bottom piece to the larger sides. I put it on a couple of 2×4 scraps to lift it up to the place I wanted it to sit. This is upside down.
Then, I flipped it over and screwed the smaller sides to the larger sides. A little tip if you can’t get your drill into those tight spaces is to use one of these crazy things. They actually work pretty well! I can’t find one online, but I picked this up at the local hardware store.
Then, just a quick sand and that was it.
At this point, you can drill a hole in the bottom if you want some drainage.
Then, you can add a plastic sheet, or you can do what I did and tape off the outside of the planter and spray the inside with a few coats of Flexseal. This is a great option for wooden planters because it protects the wood.
If you want to do this step, it’s actually pretty quick but you do have to wait a day between each coat and then two days before you plant.
Flexseal should protect the wood and is super quick to apply. It’s a little more permanent option than a liner.
You can stain or not stain however you like. I did a couple of different stains to contrast a little.
If you want to leave them outside you might spray on a couple of coats of polyurethane, but I haven’t done that (yet)! I probably should…
Then, I planted the cacti and that was it!
So, they took about 10 min to build and maybe another 10-15 min of work time to finish if you choose to do that. Easy and quick!
I love cacti, mainly because they are the ONE plant I can keep alive. It’s a nice way to add some green.
Check out what my awesome friends did with their planters. Amazing work from these ladies!
That’s it for today! Thanks so much for stopping by!
April
Wooden Planters – A Quick and Easy DIY
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Great use for scrap wood April!
Thanks Brittany!
I LOVE this idea.. and that cactus is beyond beautiful!
Thank you Medina! It so needed a home 🙂