Rustic Centerpiece DIY

I went antiquing in this cute little town called Waynesville the other day while my mom was in town and got just a little bit obsessed with these cute wooden planter-style boxes that I saw in several different shops. They ranged in price from $35-$80 depending on size (keep in mind these were empty with no seasonal fillers!), which I most definitely did not want to pay before trying my hand out at making my own. 

DIY just leaves so much more in the budget for fillers and other decor, right?!

Anyway, I started by purchasing two 1x6 pine boards at Lowe's - I went with a cheaper wood because I liked the look of the knots and planned to sand down the surfaces anyway. The employee who helped me was kind enough to cut three, three foot lengths plus two small pieces for each end.

 Our local Lowe's has the best customer service!

 I used wood glue ($1.50) to attach the sides and ends of my container. I weighted the sides down with extra wood, but you can definitely use clamps for more pressure.

 Once it was dry, I took a turn sanding down the sides and edges.

 Or should I say, I enlisted my poor husband who had the day off for Veteran's Day...

 To stain, I set up a plastic shower curtain in my garage and made sure to have rubber gloves handy (I am the messiest crafter ever!).

 The stain I used is from Menards and cost roughly $5 (I purposely bought the stain without polyurethane because I wanted a more rustic finish). Throw in a three-pack of disposable foam brushes, and my total was only $7! I chose Ebony for a black finish and only used a single coat to let the character of the pine show through. 

I painted on a thin coating of stain, waited for a minute or two then used an old tee shirt to wipe the excess stain off in the direction of the wood grain.

 I used a box to prop up my container so that I could get the stain evenly applied all the way to the bottom of each side.

 I let my container dry overnight on cardboard.

 Then, I folded up a few strips of cardboard from the garage to create height inside the container.

I added some LED candles, pumpkins, berries, leaves and spray painted pinecones (the only new item was the pack of candles I scored for 50% off + another 25% off at Michaels last week!).

It only took a few minutes to fill and was EXACTLY what I envisioned, all for roughly $20!

I'm excited to change up the fillers for Christmas (think ornaments, greenery and more sprayed pine cones, oh my!) and will definitely be sharing what I create in a future post!