Southern Girls Blog Hop-DIY pallet coffee table

Today is the second of many Southern Girls Blog Hop!  Allie has a wonderful coffee table for you today that is seriously FABULOUS!  I'm blogging over at Charmbed Bliss today with a fun little Valentine's Day Wreath tutorial!  Don't forget to check out all the other ladies' DIY/tutorial posts from today!  There are some good ones!  ;)

There is also a little giveaway going on!  Make sure & leave a comment on this blog post & my guest post at Charmed Bliss for your chance to win!  Rules below!

Hi everyone! I'm Allie and I blog over at Young Love!! Lately I've been on a DIY/craft kick, but other than that I love to blog about my sweet fiance, Blake and my sweet little pup, Ace! 

So I've seen a million different projects on Pinterest on how to "upcycle" old pallets into beautiful furniture!!! I talked to my dad, and he grabbed me some old pallets from work and it was time to begin! I knew exactly what I wanted to make, and I couldn't wait to begin! This project was EXTREMELY affordable and easy to do! I am SO happy with the way it turned out! I hope this post does a good enough job to explain exactly how to do this project! If not, feel free to comment or contact me (brooksallie@gmail.com) with any questions!!!

Okay so the first step is finding a pallet. I actually had one a tad smaller I wanted to use, but the boards stuck over the edge a couple of inches and the sides needed boards for a smooth edge for the fabric to cover. That would mean a LOT of extra work that I wasn't really planning on, so I ended up using the bigger pallet which did not need any sawing or reinforcing! Ask around to find pallets! I have seen them in the back of stores, and I'm sure if you ask they wouldn't mind giving it to you!

So as far as cost goes... the pallet was free!

The next step was the add a layer of cardboard all over the pallet. I did this so that the batting and fabric didn't sink down in between the wood planks of the pallet. This was probably the most time consuming part! I carefully used a box cutter to fit bits and pieces of a cardboard box I found in the garage and stapled it on! Speaking of staplers... I bought mine a while back at Lowe's for around $15! We've used it several times, so it was definitely worth the purchase! Also, use the biggest (longest) staples that your stapler will allow! You need long ones to go through all the layers.

It basically looked like a big box once all the cardboard was on!

Next, I added a plastic lining just to protect the cardboard from any spills on anything like that! This is completely optional... I found an old slip n' slide in the garage (ha!) and used part of it! But you stable it all the way on!

Total cost so far... still free!

Next layer was the batting! I found come i think 40% off at Hancock's Fabric for $2.99 a yard! I bought  I think 4 yards... so it was around 7 or 8 dollars! It turned out to not be enough (since I switched to a larger pallet) and had to buy a bag of it for $5 dollars at Wal-Mart! I stapled that layer on right over the plastic lining. The corners were a little tricky. Honestly my best advice is to just pull and staple it down as smooth as you can get it! Trim excess as needed! 

Total updated cost... now with the batting we are up to $12-13 dollars!

Batting I found at walmart!

You can see the yellow plastic lining under the batting!

Batting layer finished

After stapling the corner

Trim the excess fabric

Next, time for the fabric! This is the same as the batting... I would begin with the ends, and then move to the sides. Save the corners for last. The corners were a little tricky... I just folded and pulled and trimmed until I was happy with the seam and how it looked! I love this fabric... my mom has had it for a while. She bought it on clearance at Hancock's Fabric for around $7 a yard! I probably used a yard and a half? 

Technically my mom gave me the fabric so it was free for me (thanks, mom!) but we'll say I used 2 yards at $7 a yard so I think we are up to around $30!

I began by adding a few staples to the ends and sides before flipping it over to make sure that my pattern was straight.

Example of the corners! I had my mom and her wonderful friend help me and she folded and snipped and trimmed until we were happy with the single seam along the corner!

All finished, before the legs were added!

After the top was finished... time for the legs! I found these legs at Home Depot for around $5 each. They actually ended up being too tall so I could have gone a size shorter for cheaper but it worked out! My advice would be to finish the top and decide where it is going to sit. Measure how tall of legs you need according to your desired height and THEN buy the legs! Don't forget your brackets to mount the legs! Those are around $1.50 each!

Total Cost is up to $26ish for the legs plus our $30 so around $56 total! 

Here are the legs I found, before stain. Home Depot has several different options.

I decided to stain my legs a dark wood color... you can use any type of stain you want! It doesn't take much at all, so if you already have stain.. I would recommend that! I bought a small can and barely used any, so I'm saving it for future projects!

The Stain "Espresso"

I only used one coat of stain

So with the stain we are at somewhere around $60! Not bad for a one day project! I've seen similar ottomans sell for around $350-$400 so I would say this project was a success! Your price will vary depending on cost of fabric. I have seen some upholstery fabric go as much as $50 a yard. However, since you don't need much and it is such a big statement piece in your room, I would definitely say it is worth it to find a fabric you are completely happy with. But still... shop around! And don't be afraid to shop online. You can find some really great deals on fabric online at very affordable prices!

I am so happy with the final project!

And that's it! Super easy and affordable!!! Hope my explanation made sense... feel free to contact me with any questions! 

What do you think?!

Southern Girl Swap--Blog Hop Guest Post

I'm blogging over at Leslyn's Lovely Life today so hop on over there & check out my post on a few things that are on my Christmas list this year!  And don't forget to comment for your chance to win some Starbucks goodies!  =)

Hi my name is Bethany and I blog over at Bloom Designs! My blog consist of a little bit of everything from graphic design projects all the way to fashion finds! A little over a year ago I got married to my best friend of 5 years, Tyler Toney and together we have a fur baby named Sadie who is pretty much our whole lives right now!

{We like to drink soda pop and gaze at each other on a bench conveniently outside of somebody front door in the middle of nowhere. Oh wait...you don't do that? *smile*}

{Our fur baby, Sadie Swift Toney. Chewer of all things and professional dirt digger.}

Growing up my family didn't have any crazy Christmas traditions besides your usual decorating the tree to Christmas music and gathering around the TV to watch a Christime- time classic...such as Elf. So when I spent my first Christmas as a Toney last year, I realized I had married into a family full of special traditions!

Last Christmas while opening presents- I was handed this tiny box from Tyler's grandmother who we all call "Nean". At first I thought she had gotten me a pair of earrings or even a ring by how small the gift was but while opening the box- I unveiled this tiny pink box that said "Mini Basket of Beauty" on it. It was a little worn on the sides and the color had slightly faded on the front. Looking up, I smiled and got slightly awkward saying "Aw thank you so much Nean!" not exactly knowing what this gift was but still wanting to be nice at the same time! I mean hello...This was my FIRST christmas as a Toney...I didn't want to blow it! Laughing, Nean said, "No..no open the box!" So when I did, I found this small folded up piece of paper that said:

A YEAR FULL OF LOVE

You may think I'm an empty 

box to sit upon a shelf.

But really I'm a box full of 

LOVE from a little elf.

This will last all year long, until

you hear a Christmas song.

Then you decide for next year

in which stack of gifts I will

appear.

Still slightly confused, Nean begins to explain the meaning behind this tiny box. When my sister-in-law Paige was in elementary school, they gave all the kids the opportunity to go shopping in a store they set up in the library. This store contained of small trinkets that you could buy and wrap right there to give to your family and friends for Christmas. So Paige ended up buying this "Mini Basket of Beauty" for Nean that year. When Nean finally opened the present from Paige, she realized that nothing was actually inside the box. Paige had either purchase an empty box or it had fallen out at some point while wrapping it. Seeing that Neans gift from her was empty, it really got her upset. But Nean being the loving and sweet grandmother she is quickly replied, "No Paige, this gift is perfect! You got me a little box full of LOVE!"

So every year, this tiny box gets passed down each Christmas to somebody different in the family. Being the newest member of the family I had it passed down to me from Nean herself. So every time I looked at this box throughout the year, I was reminded of how much the Toney family loves me and how much I am blessed to be apart of it.

During Christmas I think we get wrapped up in thinking "How can I top the gift I gave last year?" or "If I only had more money this year to give the perfect gift..." when really sometimes the best gift you can give is just letting the person know you simply love them.

Even if it that loves comes in the form of a tiny, empty pink-faded box.

What a sweet and unique story and tradition!  Thanks for sharing with us Bethany!  Don't forget to hop on over to Charmed Bliss to check out all the other wonderful Southern Girl Swap blogs for this month!



There is also a little giveaway going on!  Check out the rules below!