Looks great! I just use a drill bit (for concrete) to make the holes after it hardens. It's real easy to do :O).
Anela

Seriously - a milk crate??? Now I'm starting to feel brave...I've been lurking here for a while, waiting for a project that sounded like something I could actually do. I like the proportions of the milk crate for a planter and I have a few of them lying around. Do I just mix up the tofu - I mean tufa - and slap it on the crate?

I just read a post here that said there are no stupid questions so I decided to take a risk....

Anela: thanks for tip of the drill bit. I'll do that this fall when it's time to clean up before the first frost.

hosta n hockey: All I did was grab two fist fulls of tufa and smashed them together so the crate was sandwiched between them. I did this all the way up the sides of the crate. The lower portion of the planter is a little thicker. After I covered the crate, I squashed the tufa in a plastic mask. Flipped the formed tofu out the mask onto one hand, flipped it into my other hand so facial features were lying in my palm. Then I placed the face on to the sides of the container. I supported the face with my hand while blending in the edges of the face on to the sides of the containers. It was pretty easy. hosta n hockey, give it a try and let us know how it goes.

I have three more crates to use up. I think I am going to pick up one of those small crates and wire it to the bigger crate. With this I'm going to make a boulder looking planter with two cubbies for flowers. I haven't planned out the design for the last two crates.

When you use the masonry drill bit, you might want to use some graduated sizes, starting small and gradually enlarging the hole. I tried a large bit on concrete, and broke the whole thing. Nothing breeds caution like failure!

Also, make sure everything is DRY before you start drilling. We don't like to hear about terminal accidents at this forum. (ZZZZZZZZZZZTTT!)

Sue

Wow! If that's your first project, I can't wait for more!!!
That really turned out great.
Justin

Very nice. See it wasn't so hard! Try some Hosta's for your shade area. There are so many varieties.
Paws

Serene,

Nice planter. I need to get my hands on some milk crates. They aren't easy to come by here. Can't wait to see more of your work.

Hostas,

You're right, there are no stupid questions here. I'm glad to see so many new people participating.

Amy

WOW SereneSeen... that is just WOW!!! I love the texture you came up with on that planter and think the faces are very awesome as well. Great first project. A+

Marly

What a beautiful planter. The idea of using a milk crate had never occured to me. h-m-m-m-m-

Thank you for sharing.

Thanks all for the complements. This forum has been a great resource.

Just so you know, I used on of those cheap thinner milk crates I pick-up several years ago at Walmart. I believe they still sell them or possibly at one of those Dollar type stores. It wasn't one of those old thick plastic milk crates that were actually used to haul milk jugs around.

happy 4th to all,
Veronica

Veronica,
How did you do the bottom of the crate? Did you complete the entire project in one day? I would think there would be a terrible problem with slumping.

I have seen collapsible milk crates at Wal Mart for kids at back to school time. They had them in the Clearance isle. I was looking for them to transport my concrete stuff around.
Paws

ShirleyWNY5, I had planned to complete the project in one day but it ended up being a two day project. I'm new to this and mixed up the batch of tufa using the last of the portland in the process. I ran out of tufa a quarter of the way up the walls of the crate. Then parental duties came and I didn't get to work on the project until the next morning. The tufa I put on was already hard so I added a little on that layer and moved up the crate until it was covered. It probably took me all of two hours total to make the project.

I'm nut sure what slumping is. I'm guessing it's tufa that just slides down the sides? If it's that, then no I didn't have that problem. Hope that answers you question. If not, will someone please tell me what slumping is. Thanks.

Veronica

Veronica, I think you did an awesome job. I just LOVE your planter..... hmmmmmm I know I have some milk crates stashed around this place somewhere...........

Jilly

I would also like to know how the bottom was done?

Is there any reason to do the bottom?

Serene, wonderful planter! What did you use to mold the faces?

Deb

Planter bottom: I placed the crate on a plastic covered piece of plywood and just loaded tufa into the inside bottom of the crate so no plastic would show through when you look into the crate. The bottom is about 3 inches thick. That might be over kill but it was my first attempt at a planter. If you tip the planter over you can see a little bit of the plastic crate on the underside.

For the faces I used a plastic mold of a face I picked up at Hobbie Lobbie.

Serene