How to make your own Mother’s Day goody crate

Step 1
To make the base of the crate, you need some thin board. Fleur used 3mm MDF but plywood will also work. First, cut all your wood to size. Fleur’s base is the same size as an A4 piece of paper.

Step 2
To make the ends of the crate, cut four lengths of wood that are the same width as the base. These will sit on top of the base, so the wood that goes along the sides needs to fit between these two ends. Fleur used a jig saw to cut handle notches out of two of the end pieces and cut four corner uprights to be 120mm long. Once you have made all your cuts, sand any rough bits smooth.

Step 3
Next paint all the wood. Fleur painted the base, two sides and two ends in Resene Rapture, and the remaining two sides and the handles in Resene Japonica. Fleur also painted the four corner uprights in Resene Japonica.

Step 4
Construct the crate and glue it together with wood glue. Leave it to dry overnight and then the next day nail it together using small pin nails.

Step 5
I painted on flowers and leaves using Resene Persian Red, Resene Olive Green, Resene Rivergum and Resene Wax Flower.

Step 6
Once the paint was dry, sand the whole crate with a coarse grit sandpaper to give it a weathered and distressed look. Use a cloth to rub Resene Colorwood stain in the colour Resene Teak over the crate.

Step 7
Leave the stain to dry. Put some tissue paper in the bottom and then fill with some of Mum’s favourite things. Happy Mother’s Day!

Top tip: Use Resene FX Blackboard Paint for part of the painted area on the outside of the crate. Allow to dry then use chalk to write some personal hand-written messages for your mum.