My daughter’s kindergarten teachers are so loving, helpful and definitely go above and beyond, not only for my baby but for all of the students in their class.  I knew for Teacher Appreciation Week I wanted to do something more than just buy them a gift and a card.  And with this new woodworking hobby, it was only right to practice my skills.  So, I decided I’d have my 5 year old help me make these wooden mason jar planter boxes for them.

The plans used a 4ft 1×4 board, but my Home Depot only sells 1x4s in 8ft, 10ft or 12ft.  So, I bought one 8ft piece, which was perfect because we could use it for both planters. And it only cost $2.10!  I also got 2 packs of Everbuilt 3 ½ inch zinc-plated inside corner braces (optional and not part of the plans) from Home Depot (you can typically find these in the hardware aisle that has the cabinet handles, door latches etc.) They were about $4 a pack and each pack come with 4 braces and screws. They can be found here (or at your local Home Depot) and look like this…

After they were assembled (see plans for assembly instructions here or in the link above), I sanded them with 150 grit sand paper using my sander and painted them with about 2-3 coats of white chalk paint (I used Valspar’s brand medium base with no tint or color added.  Just buy the white base as is).  The can looks like this…

After the paint dried, I sanded all of the edges again with the 150 grit sand paper to expose some of the natural wood color and give the planter box a little definition and “umpf”. Then we put the corner braces on each of the four corners.  I’d already had the mason jars that I’d painted with mercury glass spray paint from our wedding decor a few years ago (I got the spray paint at Hobby Lobby). We filled those with teacher related items I’d found in my favorite spot at Target, the Dollar Spot and added them to the planter.  Her teachers LOVED them (and so did my wallet 😉)!  Aren’t they cute?

I decided to play around and style one the morning we were going to give them to her teachers and fell in love with the this tulip arrangement I did. So, of course I had to make myself one.    

Where to get other items not listed above:

• Mason Jars: Hobby Lobby. Click here for a link to them online.  I bought mine in the store. They’re almost always on sale. If they’re not already on sale, don’t forget to use your 40% coupon! Not sure if the 40% off works online, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t.
• Faux White Tulips: Michaels, also don’t forget to use your coupons!

AND don’t forget to share and let me know if you make these!! I wanna see!