Building a Lemonade Stand out of what I had at home.
Summer time is full of fun adventures and lots of ideas of fun things to do. This year I asked my kids what was on their summer bucket list. They were very excited to get to throw out their activites, granted there were a few that were pretty extravagant. We had to explain these are going to be some fun, inexpesive things we can do. The list consisted of going to the splash pad, sleeping on the tramp, going on a hike, water balloon fight, "real" camping, going to bear lake, movie and popcorn testing night, fossil hunting, and lemonade stand. Its a great list and we are excited for the time we get to spend together doing these activities.
So this last week one of my sisters sent a picture of her kids doing a lemonade stand. They had gone and bought all the material to make a really cute lemonade stand. When I saw it, I remembered I had 3-4 pallets in my driveway still from house projects. I instantly thought "Oh yeah! I can do that!" My husband kindly reminded me we have other projects we are trying to finish... so we are not building a lemonade stand right now. I agreed...." yep, WE are not building it right now. haha Yeah, he came home the next day to a lemonade stand! 🤣
Lemonade Stands
There are so many fantastic ways to build a fun and cute lemonade stand. I've seen them made out of those wood crates, out of fencing pieces, out of melamine and many other ways. I was able to build mine out of 2.5 pallets that I already had, and a large piece of flooring that the flooring company that we just got flooring from had placed on top of our pallet to keep it from getting damaged. I love making fun things just using things that I already have.
How to build your Stand
Step #1 Gathering The Material
Like I mentioned above, I was able to make our stand from items that I had, but if you are making yours from materials that you do not have make sure to measure and get the right amount of material before starting.
Step #2 Choose The Size
Decide the size of your stand. I simply measured our top piece (the flooring piece that I had) and that is how we decided the size. Then I found the longest pallet for the front of our stand. I then measured and cut the second pallet to fit the one side and repeated this for the second side. Our kiddos love to help with the chaulk line, needless to say we had lots of chaulk lines to follow!😂
Step #3 Layout
Once I had all the pieces we did a rough set up, by putting the top on top of the three pallet pieces, to make sure it was going to fit. at this point I also marked any areas that need to be smoothed out or leveled. Using a sander and a oscillating tool to make sure the top was level.
Step #4 Build It
Then it was time to build it. I had my oldest two help me hold the pallets in place while I screwed it together, and they did a great job. once our sides were attached to the front pallet we stood it up and made sure it was strong and sturdy. We then sanded it good, to prevent slivers. While my helpers sanded I decided to put a shelf in the stand, this will be a great place for them to put their money box during their sale and any other things they need. My youngest thinks this is her laying spot.. haha
Step #5 Putting the Top on
Now that the sides were sanded and the top of level it was time to put the top on. It fit perfect. We did have to help the sides be straight when attaching it to the top but that was not hard. The top piece was difficult to screw through, but once it went in, it held great and felt nice and sturdy. I also placed a support board through under the middle of the top piece to help so it would not bend in.
Step #6 Finishing Touches
With any project there are always finishing touches. I cut a couple pieces of pallet wood in half length wise to fill in gaps that needed some wood (these pieces were to small to nail so I used liquid nails glue to glue these and a clamp to hold them in place to dry.) We still haven't decided if we should paint it, stain it, or just leave it. I like the rustic look, but we will see. I also think I will add some wheels with locks to the bottom so that it is able to move easier... it's a titch heavy. But for now, we love it!
Voila!!
A lemonade stand! This was such a fun project. Simple, quick and one that the kids loved helping with. From start to finish it was 1.5 hours. Thats pretty good with 4 helpers. We look forward to using our stand this week for an epic "Lemonade and Treats sale!"
I love seeing projects that I can watch the transformation and see the finished product. I hope this inspires you to do your fun project, YOU GOT THIS!!
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