How to make a mini crate with freezer pop sticks

This freezer pop stick project will especially wow lovers of farmhouse and cottage styles, as well as anyone who admires an ingenious, pretty storage hack. Several of these finished pieces grouped together could be the organizational key to a pretty yet efficient pantry shelf.
As any DIYer knows, the hot glue gun works its magic in myriad projects; but, it plays an indispensable role in this one. Patience, careful material placement, and precise measuring skills work together to produce a décor accessory that harmonizes with virtually any color scheme, serves the important purpose of storing “stuff,” and most importantly, looks fabulous while doing it.
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Materials
- Freezer pop sticks
- Blue painter’s tape
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Heavy-duty cutting tool
- Hot glue gun
- Small cutting tool
- String
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Instructions
1. Place seven frozen-pop sticks next to each other horizontally on top of a work surface.
2. Place a piece of tape vertically along the centers of the sticks to keep them stationary.
3. Mark a faint straight line about 1/4 inch in from each side's outer edges using the ruler and pencil.
4. Trim off the round ends of the sticks with a heavy-duty cutting tool, using the pencil marks as guides.
5. Apply hot glue between each of the sticks and lay the piece flat while the glue dries. This will form one side of the box.
6. Measure the height of the box side with a ruler. It should measure about 2 3/4 inches.
7. Mark a 2 3/4-inch section on a stick.
8. Cut away the excess length on the stick with the cutting tool.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 three more times.
10. Cut one of these 2 3/4-inch pieces in two so that each of the pieces measures approximately three-quarters of an inch.
11. Place the three intact single-piece lengths of freshly cut sticks on the work surface horizontally. The top two should abut each other, with a space between them. Place the third one below two upper pieces and the gap.
12. Fill the empty space with the two pieces of cut stick so that each piece aligns with the outer edges of the rest of the pieces. There will be a small, approximately three-quarter-inch gap in the middle of the third line of sticks.
13. Cut two small pieces from another stick, place them vertically, and glue them to the outer sides of this piece. This will form one of the box’s sides.
14. Repeat steps 10–13 to produce the other side panel of the box.
15. Glue the bottom section of each box side piece to the bottom of the larger box base piece, so the cutaway parts or handles, are situated on the top third of each side of the box.
16. From side to side, the box will measure about 4 inches.
17. Cut six stick pieces that each measure 4 inches. Glue two to the bottom part of the box and apply glue also to the sides of the stick so those areas will stick to the bottoms of the box’s side sections.
18. Glue the ends of the next two pieces to the sides of the box and place them midway up the height of the box.
19. Glue the last two pieces to the very tops of the box’s side sections so the tops of the horizontal pieces being glued are flush with the tops of the sides. There will be a gap between the first and second, and second and third pieces on these front and back sections of the box.
20. Cut two pieces of string that are each about 2 inches long.
21. Dot some hot glue on the inside center top section of one side of the box.
22. Glue one end of the string in that spot. Bring the string up and over the top of that section and then through the loop that forms the handle section of the box. Keep wrapping the string around this section until it is completely covered.
23. Snip away the excess string and glue the other end of the string to the interior area above the box handle.
24. Repeat steps 21–23 on the other side of the box.
25. Allow the glue to dry.
26. Your freezer pop stick box is now ready for filling and display.
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