Carole West of Garden Up Green DIY: Scrap Wood Spice Rack

Today I'm so pleased to have guest host Carole West of Garden Up Green. I really enjoy her blog and know that you will too!  Today she shares an excellent reuse for scrap wood.  Join me now in welcoming Carole to Hibiscus House.

Hello everyone my name is Carole West from Garden Up Green and I’m excited to be sharing at Hibiscus House; Dolly is an inspiration to others.   I’m especially fond of her roses, aren’t they simply amazing?

For months I’ve been looking for the perfect spice jar and just when I was about to give up my search I finally found what I was looking for at Target.  These spice jars have double openings at the top so I’m able to use them for just about anything.  You can’t beat the price, they were $1.99 each. 

They did have spice rack boxes to go with them but I knew I could build my own with some left over wood at home. 

I love to build especially with left over wood, so today we’re going to be working with cedar, building a very simple spice rack for the kitchen countertop. 

Building Tools

Whenever I build, especially when it involves electric saws I make sure to wear safety goggles, gloves and ear plugs.  Safety is smart thinking!  For this project I used a table saw, chop saw, drill and hammer.  If you don’t have access to these types of tools you could probably use a jig saw, be careful because we’re dealing with small pieces of wood.

Wood Measurements

I used pieces of cedar fence boards for this project but you could use any type of wood that it not extremely thick. 

The bottom of the box is leftover wall covering wood.  If you don’t have any scrap wood then go to the hardware store because sometimes you can purchase wood pieces for cents in the scrap bin.

Spice Rack Measurements:

1.      Ends 2 x 2.5 inches

2.      Front  11 x 2 inches

3.      Back 11 x 2.5 inches

4.      Bottom 11 x 3 inches

Step One

For visual application view the above photos.  We’re drilling one hole on each face end of the front board and two holes on each face end of the back board.  Additional holes will be drilled in Step two.

1.      Measure and cut all your boards

2.      Sand each piece of wood until smooth

3.      Begin to line up your wood so you can drill pilot holes – Pilot holes keep the wood from splitting and it makes it easier to hammer your nails in place.

Step Two

Once the holes are drilled it’s time to hammer everything together.  We want to use simple finishing nails; the length will depend on the wood you’re working with.

Start your nails by laying the board flat; hammer the nail until they begin to poke through.  Connect the front board to each end and repeat that process with the back board. 

The bottom of my container is in two pieces so I drill pilot holes before I started hammering.  I drilled as I hammered to make sure everything was lined up perfectly. 

Once the bottom is attached sand the box again and it’s time to stain.  I like the look of natural wood so I choose a natural oak color, it dried darker than I thought and wow does cedar soak up the stain.  I simply brushed on the stain and let it air dry for a couple hours.

The rack didn’t look finished so I grabbed some natural string, applied glue and began wrapping it around the base until I had about 7 rows. 

I attached the string using crafters tacky glue, you can purchase the string and glue at any craft store and for all you Wal-Mart shoppers they also carry it. 

Spice Anyone?

I’m super excited about this rack; it made my countertop look clean and organized.  I made this a little longer so I can add one more jar; this means I’m headed to Target soon.  

If you’re filling your jars with dried herbs remember they only last about 6 months, so make sure you use them up to get the most spice and nutrition.  Food is just better with herbs mixed in, do you agree?

I hope you enjoyed today’s project, it’s been an honor to share with you all.  If you enjoyed this project make sure to visit me over at Garden Up Green, I love to create fun!  Have a Great day everyone!

Thank you Carole for sharing this great project with us.  It turned out just beautiful!  I love wood, the textures, the colors, everything about it really.  What a wonderful idea!

Friends visit Carole and let her know you enjoyed the post.  You will find yourself staying for awhile because of the many articles she has written. She has written a book as well.  I don't know how she finds the time to do all that she does!