Dollar Tree Pumpkin Crate Craft

Hey there! I am so excited to be sharing with you all how to make a Dollar Tree Pumpkin Crate Craft. I love finding affordable crafting supplies at my local Dollar Tree because they can be transformed into some of the cutest DIYs, such as this beautiful farmhouse style fall decoration.  This creative fall craft was so much fun to make.  I think this farmhouse inspired fall décor would look gorgeous sitting alongside your other fall decorations in your entryway, kitchen, bathroom, laundry room –anywhere you need a pop of farmhouse style fall charm.  You could even add some warm fairly lights to this to really make it sparkle! 

Materials needed: 

• 7 jumbo popsicle sticks 
• Wood Crate from Dollar Tree 
• Stain (I used Minwax in Dark Walnut) 
• Old rag & gloves for staining 
• White chalk paint 
• Paint brushes 
• Sanding block (Click here for sanding block, Affiliate link)
• Foam block (Mine came from Dollar Tree)
• Wood or Cardboard pumpkin (I pulled mine off of a Dollar Tree fall frame) 
  • We also now offer adorable laser-cut pumpkin cutout kits HERE
  • also in our Fall Fun Box HERE!
• Orange & Black acrylic paints ( I like apple barrel paints by PLAID) 
• Brown craft paper 
• Twine ( Click here for twine, Affiliate link)
• Ultra fine Sharpie marker 
• Flowers ( I bought mine at Walmart) 
• Wire cutters to cut flowers down 
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks 
• Stick from back yard 
• raffia  or bow (Click here for raffia, Affiliate Link)

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Stain Your Crate & “Fence” Pieces

Using a crate purchased from the Dollar Tree, we are first going to make a “fence” using jumbo popsicle sticks to secure onto the crate.  You will need 7 jumbo popsicle sticks total for this project, but 5 will be used to make the front of our “fence.”  Using Minwax stain in the color “dark walnut,” stain all 7 of the popsicle sticks, as well as the crate.  Be sure to rub stain over the entire crate, except the inside of the crate as that will not be visible, and the popsicle sticks.  *Always wear gloves and old clothes when staining projects and stain in a well-ventilated area.  Allow to dry completely. 

Step 2: Craft a “Picket Fence” and Attach To Your Crate

Line up 5 of your stained jumbo popsicle sticks vertically, staggering the tops so they sit at different heights for a “rustic fence” look. Place the crate over them to see how much you’ll need to trim from the bottoms so the fence fits neatly behind the crate. Once trimmed, lay a 6th stained popsicle stick horizontally across the fence near the bottom, making sure it spans all 5 sticks without hanging over the edges. Trim to size and secure with hot glue. Repeat this step with the 7th stained popsicle stick, placing it near the top of the fence to hold everything together. Allow the glue to dry completely. Finally, flip the fence so the two horizontal support sticks are on the back, leaving the front free of visible supports.

Step 3: Paint Your Crate and Fence

Using white chalk paint, paint the entire crate on the outside. You don’t need to paint the inside of the crate as that will not be visible when you fill it.  Then, add a second coat of paint to the crate.  Allow to dry. Also paint two coats on the front, back, and sides of the “fence.”  Allow to dry.

Step 4: Sand Your Project

Take a sanding block and sand over the fence, especially in between each popsicle stick to help them stand out and give them a rustic farmhouse style look.  Sand over the crate as well. 

Step 5: Attach The Fence To The Crate

Choose which long side of your crate you would like to be the front. Attach the fence to the backside of the crate with hot glue, making sure that the horizontal support sticks are also towards the back so they are not seen.

Step 6: Fill Your Crate with Foam

Next, take some foam from the Dollar Tree. You will need to cut this down to size so it fits inside of the crate. Once your foam is cut to size, secure it down into the crate with hot glue. 

Step 7: Add A Pumpkin Embellishment 

Grab your pumpkin cutout piece. I used a pumpkin I removed from a sign I bought at the Dollar Tree. I sanded off the old coloring first, and then painted the pumpkin orange.  Quick tip: If you only have bright orange paint but you’d like it darker, you could take a small dot of brown or black paint and mix in with the orange to make a very rustic looking orange color.  I had to apply 4 coats of paint to this pumpkin since I was painting over a previous design. Paint as many coats as you need to get your desired coverage. Allow to dry. 

For my project, I decided to cut the stem of the pumpkin off and use a real stick, cut down to size, for the stem instead. I hot glued the stick into place. 

Step 8: Add Your Flowers and Greenery 

Next, using faux fall flowers and greenery of your liking (I purchased mine form Wal-Mart), trim the stems down to size so they fit down into the foam inside of your crate. Make them as tall as you’d like with a bit of the fence peaking out of the top for a cute garden look.  Arrange your greenery and flowers to your liking inside of the crate. 

Step 9: Make a “FALL” Bunting Banner & Attach

Take some brown construction paper, fold it into 4, and then cut a small triangle out. This is a quick way to give you 4 small “flags” to make a bunting banner to hang across the top of your fence. 

Use an ulta-fine sharpie and spell out the word “FALL,” writing one letter of the word on each of the upside-down triangle/flag piece. 

Take a piece of twine and before cutting, hold it across the top of your fence for sizing. Then, trim it down so that it is long enough to go across the top part of the fence and go around to the back of the fence at each end.  Or, if you prefer longer tails to show on the front of your project, you can totally do that too! Next, hot glue each of the upside-down triangle flag pieces onto the twine spaced evenly apart so that the word “FALL” is spelled out.  Lastly, hot glue your banner at each end to the back of the fence (or front if you prefer).  Trim away any excess twine if needed. 

Step 10: Add Final Pumpkin & Embellishments 

Add some Spanish Moss to cover and fill in any exposed foam around the edge of the flowers and greenery in your crate. Secure in place with hot glue.  Hot glue the pumpkin to the front center of your crate.  

Lastly, make a raffia bow and place it over top of the bottom of the stem of your pumpkin using hot glue to secure it down.  Trim away any excess raffia from the bow. 

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And there we have it! A super cute fall themed crate to enjoy all season long! 

If you decide to make this DIY  I’d love to hear from ya! You can drop a comment below or message me on any of my social media pages. Hope you have a blessed weekend and as always remember to keep it simple. Catch ya next week my friends!  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube

Watch this tutorial on YouTube!

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Looking for more fun Dollar Tree Crate ideas?? Give these a try!

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