Crates, Crates and more Crates

I have a new love......vintage crates. 

I thought it would be fun to make a bookcase for my daughter's room, out of old crates.  However, when I started searching on-line, I realized very quickly that they are very expensive.  So, I was browsing through my favorite blog sites, and came across a fabulous idea from Erika at Retropolitanhip (http://retropolitanhip.blogspot.com/2010/10/cratesmy-new-love-and-tutorial_19.html).  She provided a step-by-step tutorial on how to make crates look vintage-like at a fraction of the cost. 

I first went to A.C.Moore and bought 6 inexpensive wooden crates.  If you print off a coupon at ACMoore.Com you can get 40% off one item.  If you buy one at a time or bring lots of people with you, you can buy these crates for $6.00/piece.  Once I had all six, I sanded them all down with my palm sander and starting staining them.  For stain, I used Miniwax Wood Stain in DarkWalnut.  I applied the stain with a rag as I felt like I had better control over how much I was putting on, as opposed to a paint brush.  Then I wiped off the excess.  Warning, these crates soak up the stain very quickly.

Once they were all dry, I then applied a glaze, that I mixed up myself.  I used Acrylic Craft Paint in Golden Brown and Medium Gray.  I then mixed them together with a Glazing Medium. Once I was done this, I painted the glaze onto the crates, inside and out and let them all dry completely.

The finished product was beautiful. 

I decided to stack the crates in a way that would compliment a 5-year-old little girls' room.  I didn't even attach the crates together, that way I can reconfigure the bookcase at any time, or when my daughter feels the bookcase is a little too girly.