Just wanted to comment that my crates are actually unfinished. After being so nervous about the stencils, then totally ooopsing there, I'm terrified to ruin the beauty of these with a finish.

love it. It's funny, that's what my husband and I had inscribed on our wedding rings (Established 2002)

Any suggestions where to acquire some free pallets in/near Fairbanks or North Pole area? I really want to make some of these :)

Hi Melissa, getting pallets should be super easy to do as so much is imported to Alaska on pallets, but very little leaves Alaska on pallets. Try calling warehouses, stores, and asking at shipping companies. Even using broken pallets would work for this project.

need to make one of these for the workshop to hold all the little wood scraps!

Love these! I do see the bumper car danger. My youngest is just starting to walk and he would love one of these to push around :)

I just picked up 3 amazing pallets. Thank you Ana, for making me a wood working junkie. Can't wait to show you my creations.

How cool! I can just see a little handle on one side to pull it...

I am building these for my basement/playroom/family room area. I love them. My boys will love to play in them and they just might even love putting their toys away in them!

I can't wait to make these. I promise to post pics as soon as we get them done!

These are fantastic. I bet they are going to be everywhere. Can't wait for the bragging board on this one!

absolutely in LOVE with these! sending the hubby out today to do some pallet swiping! I'm thinking scraps in the woodshop would go perfectly in here. Ever think about doing plans for something like this? http://www.callingalldogs.com/encloseddogbedcatlitterbox.aspx for those of us with furry friends?

Oh gosh I love this! Any idea in a purpose for them in a college dorm room? I think this is beautiful but I'm not sure it'd be useful for me :P

So many ideas for places to put these! This is going to be a fabulous trash can in my craft room, three wonderful recycle bins (paper, plastic & glass) in my mudroom, a bin to store the kids' (cats') blankets and toys in their play room, a perfect place to throw all my little 'building blocks' that our nieces and nephews play with when they come over...the possibilities are endless! What a fabulous idea. A while ago, a barn collapsed at my dad's house and I've been trying to think of things to do with the wood from that. A reclaimed wood headboard is on the list, but do you have any idea how many of these I'll be able to make with a barn? I'm so excited!!!!

[...] Measure and cut the handles out with a jigsaw.  Prefer a rounded corner on the handles?  Visit this post for instructions on how to do that.  Just make sure the top of the handle is at least 1 1/2″ from the [...]

YES!!! I think I'm going to have to try to find a plan to alter into this!

You could add a simple lid and use it as an ottoman.

AmyLynn, do you have a blog? I want to see!

I don't have a blog...I've been contemplating starting one though. If I do, I'll let you know.

Thanks again Ana for your inspiration. I've been collecting pallets for some time now to make little stools and thought I try this crate - turned out great. I can't figure out how to attach a photo so here's the link to my blog post. You really are amazing with your ideas - please keep up the great work. Thanks Jaime

http://thatsmyletter.blogspot.com/2010/11/c-is-for-crate.html

Thanks so much!! I just made my first crate . It is also the first thing I've made from your site (which i love)!!

[...] And by the time we were done, both Lydia and I were making plans to build our own sofas.  Also pictured reclaimed wood carts. [...]

[...] Vintage Crate Carts [...]

[...] Project # 2: Basic Vintage Crate Toy Boxes [...]

[...] Our vintage crate carts were handy, so we just traced the holes in the ends, drilled holes and cut out the handles with a jig saw.  You can see exactly how that is done in this post. [...]

I just wanted to start off by saying how much i like this idea. As I was searching the web for more ideas, i came across an article about repurposing old pallets and I thought I'd pass it on. Apparently there is some danger in using the pallets. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.poetichome.com/2010/08/30/toxic-exposure-the-danger-of-repur…

[...] is no end to the amount of things that I am constantly trying to organize and manage.  This “box“  made from pallets gave me the nudge to get my saw and safety glasses and go out to the [...]

[...] Another homeowner who chose the DIY route is Ana White who happens to have a hammer on her hip for this tutorial. I love her crates that she has handmade shown above. Great work! Learn more here. [...]

[...] Another homeowner who chose the DIY route is Ana White who happens to have a hammer on her hip for this tutorial. I love her crates that she has handmade shown above. Great work! Learn more here. [...]

[...] If you want, you can add handles and round the corners.  The handles are actually quite useful if you want to transport the shelf (I did from the garage to the house and found them much more than just decorative).  Corners are rounded 2″ down and 2″ in from the outside corners with a jigsaw. To cut a handle, please read these instructions. [...]

I have a great deal of confidence in my sewing room but the garage belongs to my husband. I sure do admire your projects though! Maybe someday I'll try some of them. Thanks so much for your shared talent!

Hey Anna,
im so excited about your site, and cant wait to get my project on... i have found so many things on your site that i can not wait to get into my house (1st) and start building some great stuff... thanks SO much.

i do have a question, some of the plans that i have tried to save as a PDF for future quick reference they come up blank... is there another place i can find them? Thanks again... your the super best

oops totally spelled your name wrong... SO SORRY!!! please forgive me...

[...] And by the time we were done, both Lydia and I were making plans to build our own sofas.  Also pictured reclaimed wood carts. [...]

[...] to find any of the cool storage crates around my area, so – what to do?!?! After finding a crate made from pallet board on Ana White’s website – I knew I could make my [...]

ok i have called costco, walmart, and target, non of which will give me any pallets. some say they send them back to the distributor and some say they recycle them and another says they just dont give them away and hung up before i could say "i'll buy them" any other thoughts on where to acquire some!

Sky, look on craigslist.com. Don't try major retailers -- your chances are better with smaller places that think it is a pain to deal with the pallets.

Sincerely,
Jesse

I am hoping I can start this project this weekend!  I will need my husbands help learning how to use the tools (this will be my first attempt at building anything) so I am hoping he lets me hang out in the garage and actually use his tools.  But, when I told him about it, he said he needed to work on the truck so it could be inspected on Monday (the 25th) because it's due by the end of the month......not that he could have been doing that during his three day weekend or anything...men!

Anyway--mine are going to be for dog toys.  One will say one dogs name and the other will say the other doggies name!  And, I would like to paint mine to match my living room (vision), especially if I end up using regular wood instead of a pallet.

Question: I have never stained anything and I am nervous about that.  So I think I am going to paint these.  My brain says paint THEN stencil dogs names.  I would want the crates to be a chocolate brown and the stenciled names would be either a lighter brown or off white.  Is my brain correct?  

I have been looking around for crates to be used as props, and stumbled into your blog. I love it and can't stop reading it. Thank you for sharing everything.

I LOVE your toy bin! I just picked up some wooden crates and have been looking for some ideas to turn them into toy storage and your post has given me the perfect inspiration. I wrote about your crates on my blog today for Inspiration Wednesday. I'd love for you to stop by sometime!
http://jroxdesigns.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/toy-crate-storage-inspirati…
- Amber @jRoxDesigns

Hi Ana, for whatever reason, the first 4 images of this project seem to be missing and the browser is displaying an error when I try to click on them. Could you see what might be the problem?