Repurposed Old Sled into an Americana Planter

The Dose of DIY group has put together some great Flag ideas for you this month by using reclaimed wood/fabrics/and/or metal. Creating a patriotic Flag project is something that can be used for Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the Fourth of July. (Or just to show our American pride!) 

I don't usually do holiday themes very well and came up with nothing to do. But I did have a few sleds hanging around from each of my sons' little boy days. This one belonged to my oldest who is now in his early 30's. So it's really weathered and ready for a repurpose.

I sanded the wood and most of the rusty metal to clean it up. 

Then stained and painted it, followed by two coats of polyurethane. 

To make it repurposed into something not only patriotic but functional too, I added iron plant holders.

Finally, hung up the sled and placed plants into the holders.

Now it's nostalgic, patriotic, and functional!

Now that you've seen what I created with this month's theme, let's go on over to check out the other creative ideas from the rest of the group!

Thank you for visiting our monthly Dose of DIY! Be sure to come back each month for more inspiration!

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Farmhouse Cutting Board Planter

The Dose of DIY group has put together a bunch of great ideas for you this month by using Coastal or Farmhouse themed projects with reclaimed netting/driftwood/shells/weathered wood/pallets.

I chose farmhouse style and used reclaimed wood (from an old bookshelf) for a wooden wall hangout or succulent planter. Using a cutting board as a pattern, I traced it slightly larger to fit the width of the wooden bowl I was using. Then roughly sanded it for some distress. 

And then, cut the bowl exactly in half. 

To attach the bowl halves, they would need to be screwed on from the back. By tracing the outline of the bowl parts in place on the cutting board, I could mark the drill holes. 

After I drilled the holes for the screws and the handle for hanging, I stained the cutting board. 

When the stain dried, I glued the bowl parts in place. That helped them to stay put while I screwed the wood screws from the back of the cutting board. 

Now it's ready to hang!

Really easy, ey? 

It's somewhat primitive but certainly farmhouse style.

It can be used for small kitchen gadgets. 

Or keys. 
Or succulents. 

Cute planter! 

This can be made with actual cutting boards but I'm using all of mine right now. I'll definitely be making more of these. 

Now that you've seen what I created with this month's theme, let's go on over to check out the other ideas from the rest of the group!

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Pieced Pastimes

Funky Junk's Party Junk

Diply

A Cloche Garden from a Repurposed Bottle

I've got another bottle upcycle to share!
The Dose of DIY group has put together a bunch of great ideas for you this month by using glass bottles/vases/mason jars.
I decided to make a Pottery Barn knock off using a gallon glass "jug" (bottle). 

Pottery Barn

Using my bottle cutting apparatus, I scored the jug with the diamond blade. You can see the score line made all around the bottle where the arrows are displayed.

Then for a good cut, I used the temperature shock method. By boiling water in a large stock pot  and preparing a separate stock pot filled with ice cold water, I rolled the bottle into the hot water for about 1 - 2 minutes to heat it. Then, quickly rolled it in the ice cold water until it fell apart at the score line.

NOTE: I've tried this method many times and it's the best one, for me, to get a good straight cut without destroying the glass. If you plan to do this yourself, PLEASE wear safety glasses and rubber gloves. Of course, keep children and pets completely away from the entire project. Using extreme caution will avoid any accidents. Cutting bottles and jars will have dramatic popping and cracking that is very unpredictable.

After cutting, sanding the edge with industrial diamond coated sandpaper and water smoothes the sharp edge. 

Then I used an old "Thermos Bottle" cork to use in the top of the bottle for a good fit. 

Now, I could also make a wood base and serve cheese with it, but we're doing a Spring theme and I prefered to use my DIY cloche with a garden. I gathered small plants, an old cake tin, stones, and moss.

Using the cake tin as the planting container, I layered and surrounded the soil and plants with stones.

After arranging the miniature garden, I topped it with moss and covered it with the glass.

See that! A terrarium that was inspired by Pottery Barn is born!

I'm sure once the plants grow too large, they will need to be repotted. But this will be a great plant starter.

Now that the project was finished, I snagged an old planter saucer from the garden shed to put the whole thing into. It got all fancy shmancy antique looking.

Not bad for a free...

...Pottery Barn knock off, ey? I used what I had around the house.

UPDATE April 15, 2016

I went to the thrift shop and hit up the 99-cent sale! I found 5 round wooden cheese boards and one of them fit perfectly! Now I need to cut another bottle for the cheese board.

Now that you've seen what I created with this month's theme, let's check out the other ideas from the rest of the group!

An InLinkz Link-up

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