Wednesday, May 1, 2013

It's Too Hot for This.

** If you like the finish on this piece, I currently have a giveaway running! Click here to enter, or click here for the product review **

The big kid decided one day, not so long ago, that she was going to have a green thumb.

There was no question! It was, "Mom, I'm gonna have a green thumb and we're gonna have a big garden. I know it's a lot of work, but I can do it!"

Eyes, wide.

Face, sincere.

So I scoffed and walked out of the room muttering something along the lines of, "Yeah, ok! And WHO'S going to pay for this big garden?"

Y'know. What any normal parent does. (right? please don't make me feel bad about myself!)

But then we bought seeds for her, planting them and figuring they'd die any given day.

They haven't. She actually does seem to have a green thumb, but our area for a "garden" is pretty sad. Raised garden beds are on my to-do list for the back yard, but... Well... I have a long to-do list!

Did I ever tell you guys about the first thing I've ever built..?



I have a building anniversary. It's the day after these plans were published. And I made it with a protractor I found online and a jig saw. Oh, and not a single screw in there matches because they're all ones I found in Mr. Goats' toolbox.

Sorry, back to my story. The garden area. Sad. We used my first build. But her hard work made me want to give her a place to do her container gardening.

And then I saw this collapsible potting table on HGTV's facebook page and decided that I HAD to have it.

So I pinned it and then figured it would get tacked into my long mommy-do list.

But it nagged me to see the kid working on the crappy table, and the Pinterest Challenge was coming up! So I figured it out.


I absolutely love it as-is, but wanted it bigger so that, if we have guests over, I could turn it into an area to put snacks, dinnerware, napkins and drinks. And I figured that the potted plants would "live" on the tabletop until I moved it anyway..

So I came up with a plan.


And about $30 later, it was built!


Wait, did I tell you it was collapsible?

If my Lowe's had straight 1x6s, the legs and bottom shelf would fit completely inside the table top! Since they didn't, I had to use a 1x4, but it still totally holds everything, and I'm thinking a bungee cord across the top (err, bottom?) will keep everything in for transport/storage.

This is especially great for people who have an "off" season and need to store everything.

Not that I know anything about that. Outdoors is accessed year-round in the desert, except the first few triple digit days where everyone's in complete shock and wondering exactly why they still live here.

Or that may just be me.

I wanted so badly to stage this for a BBQ or cocktail hour in photos, but I don't want to go outside.

It's too hot for this.

So here's what you're getting ;-)


Starting with a fully assembled table, you remove the top. Then the bottom shelf comes off and the legs fold accordion-style to tuck neatly into the top.


And then you do the opposite to put it back together! (actually, I lied, I like to unfold the legs and then put the top on first. It just makes everything easier.)

The opening on top is sized to accommodate (I never realized that word had two "m"s) this painters tray (the big kid's favorite color is blue, so of course that's what she chose!), or two of these plastic containers (which I thought would be deep enough to store juice boxes/condiments + ice).


I've seen anything from litter boxes to diagonally cut boards used as potting trays, so the possibilities are endless!

You know what isn't just a possibility, but a necessity?


The heart.

It has to happen.

I get to tell you about this great outdoor stain I used in a few days. I'll also share plans for the bench. *update: bench plans are posted here*

I hope you love it as much as I do :-)

23 comments:

  1. Can't wait for the plans! I love it!

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    1. Oh yay!! I'll post plans on the 8th (need to build/stain another project and write a stain review, but there's going to be a bigGiveaway, so it should totally be worth the wait).

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  2. Looking forward to the plans too. Good job.

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  3. How totally cool is that?! Hopefully you will be sharing the plans. Great job Gina!

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  4. Very cool, and kid inspired to boot!

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    1. Yeeeaaaaah, the darned kid... Making me want to build stuff, and al. Gee :-p

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  5. Wow - what a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. WHERE ARE THE PLANS??

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  7. any way to get a copy of the sketchup file? I love this idea and I use sketchup for all of the things i've been building.

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    1. Hi Matt! You can have the sketch up file, but you have to promise not to laugh at it :-p It's on the 3D Warehouse, here.

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  8. Awesome! Thanks so much. Don't worry I won't laugh. Its probably way better than I could do!

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  9. tocut down on some of the assembly, it looks like one could use some old 'short' windows for the sides and possibly the back...just knock out the glass (carefully). Thanks for 'finding' this and sharing.

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  10. I really want to try building this project...But I cannot download the file nor access. I have tried several different programs (Free File Viewer and Sketch make...) but I cannot download it....nor view it...Would you please be so kind as to display the blueprints/plans for this potting bench using another method that it would it easier for me to access it?

    ty

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  11. AWESOME Project! Great inspiration :) Thank you for posting....

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  12. Where are the plans located? I don't see them on this page.

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    1. Hi there! The plans were hyper link in the post, but here's a direct link. http://www.ana-white.com/2013/05/plans/collapsible-potting-table

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