What the HECK is a "Pallet Fence"?

What the HECK is a "Pallet Fence"?

My husband works for a big company here in the Quad Cities. Twice a day they empty and dispose of the industrial pallets (7'X7' -300#). These pallets are eventually broken down into wood chips. What a waste!

Knowing that there had to be something he could do with them, he began to bring them home. Do you know how many 7' pallets it takes to fill a 50' driveway? about 72. Trust me I know, I had these in my yard for a year. I finally told him that we had to do something with them, since the neighbors were begining to ask questions.

Our yard measures 250' X 150'. We knew it would be an expensive chore to put up a privacy fence. But my genius husband had that covered. This is a picture of the finished fence that he made from those pallets. The final cost for materials was around $ 1500 for a 700' foot- 51/2 high wooden privacy fence. Not only did we get a unique fence, but we recycled thousands of pounds of wood that would have been thrown away.

You Did WHAT? With that Headboard!

You Did What, With That Headboard?

Don’t throw away that old headboard! Turn it into a shelf. My husband is the type of person who loves to drive the neighborhood looking for treasures. You have no idea what he brings home. Every time citing his favorite saying, “This could come in handy one day”. Unfortunately that day could be years from now. What’s a woman to do? Turn that trash to treasure.

This wonderful shelf used to be a headboard! Every part of the original headboard was used (in fact that is how we determined the size). The only thing we added were dowels for decoration & support, then I painted it. The decoration in the middle was original to the headboard; I just painted it to enhance it.

Can you make a clock from a Cardboard barrel?

Can you make a clock from an old cardboard barrel? YES you can! My husband is a welder and the wire that he uses to weld with comes in large cardboard barrels. It seemed like such a waste that the company he works for throws out the barrels when they're empty. Knowing that there had to be something he could do with it, my Husband brought one home. For months, the barrel sat in our workshop collecting dust. One day we were walking through a store and I found a really great "Old World Style" Clock. I was in love. Unfortunately the clock cost more than I was willing to pay. This gave my Husband an idea.

My husband cut the barrel to the size he wanted, He decided to use the bottom. We glued a great picture onto the face, attached the workings and added numbers. I have to say, this is my favorite clock in the house. By the way, it's over 20'' across the front and it only cost us about $10.00. Gotta love recycling!!!

Etched Indian Chief Mirror

Etched Indian Chief Mirror

Looking for a great gift idea? I have just the thing. This Mirror is really quite easy to create.

Finding a great gift for a man can be really difficult, and making one for him is equally as hard. I have spent many hours searching the net, books, and magazines for a great gift idea for my husband or brother. Finally I gave up.

My husband and I have been crafting for years, sometimes we come up with great ideas and sometimes we can't get rid of our failed project fast enough. This Mirror is one of our success stories.

Etching a mirror is really quite easy. I will try to talk you through it.

You need:

• A mirror
• A drawing (your choice)
• Carbon paper
• an etching tool
• Spray paint

Tape the drawing and carbon paper to the back of the mirror and trace around the image.

Once the image is drawn, use the etching tool to etch along the trace lines.

After the etching is done, spray the back of the mirror and let it dry.

The mirror can then be framed and hung with pride.

I hope this gift idea has inspired you to get out there and try something new.

Beaded Red Rose

Beaded Red Rose
This pin would make a great Mother's Day gift or it could be given as a small token of appreciation.

Every year for Mother's Day I try to make a little something special for the women I work with. This small pin was perfect. I got the idea from a book I was reading. In the book (I'm sorry I don't remember the name) they were making a purse I think. I decided to take the technique I learned and turn it into something pretty.

I will try to walk you through the steps to make this everlasting flower. This pin only takes about Ten minutes to make, so you can have a bouquet in no time.

You will need:

• Atleast two colors of seed beads (I used Red and Dark Green)
• about 24" of very thin wire (26 or 28 gauge will work fine)
• A pin back
• A Wire cutter and pliers

Thread 30 "flower color" beads onto the wire (go about to the middle of the wire). After you add the last bead, fold it into a loop and twist the wire ends together. You will have a loop of beads in the middle of the wire.

Repeat this process until you have four loops side by side. Rotate between the two wire ends when threading the beads.




Take all four loops and twist them together to make it look like a flower bud.


Thread 15 "stem color" beads under the "Bud" and loop it. Do this twice, once on each wire. Once you're done, push them up against the "Bud" so they look like the leaves around a flower. Twisting the wire ends together under the whole thing.


Thread several "stem color" beads onto both wires together. (about 5 or 6 beads). Seperate the wires and thread about 15 "stem color" beads onto one of the wires and create a loop. then twist the wires back together.



Thread about 16 more " stem color" beads onto the wires. Thread the last bead in opposite directions on the two wires to finish it off. Use the wire cutter to snip the excess wire and the pliers to smooth out the edges.


Use hot glue to attach the pin back and enjoy.


If you found this gift Idea helpful, please leave a comment.