If You Build It…

they will come!  It would be hard to imagine anyone not wanting to buy lemonade at such an adorable stand.  So if you have little ones in your life,… children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or maybe neighbor children, what a fun project to build this with them.  We found this treasure of an idea on an Instagram post made by Better Homes and Gardens.  There were no written instructions, but it looks pretty self explanatory to us.

Start with 4 wooden crates.  Stack the crates front to back and repeat with the second row alternating so a front and a back are always next to each other whether side by side or top and bottom as seen in the photo.

Next have a particle board, ( or plywood) cut the same size as the top of your milk crates.  The Home Depot will cut the board to the size you want.  You will need to buy the whole sheet of particle board or plywood, but they are very cheap.  Get two 1″x 4″ boards for the sides that are 6′ long each.

Now the fun begins.  Nail the particle board to the top of the crates.  At this point you have a “crate table” or stand. To complete the stand, nail the side boards to the sides of the “crate stand” that you’ve already created.

Grab your favorite color of spray paint or a can of paint and have at it.  While the paint is drying, make your signs.

Cut a big lemon from a piece of foam core board for the “50 cent” sign, and the arrow shaped piece for the “fresh lemonade” sign as shown in the photo.  Cut eight more smaller lemon shapes from more foam core and paint each one with the letters to spell out “LEMONADE”.  These can be painted with craft latex paint and will dry in a couple of minutes.   Make 2 holes in the top of each piece and run a cord or ribbon through the lettered lemons to make the word LEMONADE.  You can buy precut wooden letters at Michaels to spell out “SALE” if you choose or simply stick with the word LEMONADE.

Now grab a couple of aprons, a pitcher, some cute paper or plastic cups from the 99 Cent Only store, and decorate your stand similar to this one.  Be careful not to get it too cluttered, however. A couple of bowls of fresh whole lemons would be really cute, or 1 bowl and a some other article with a lemon motif or maybe a small vase with some daisies.  Most anything yellow that looks like summer will work.

Now make the star of the show, the lemonade, using our recipe for Cherry Lemonade and you are ready for business.

And if you really want to “guild the lilly”, as they say, make some of our yummy Lemon Butter Cookies.

What a fun project for you to do this summer with those special children in your life.  And they can use the stand to sell lemonade, all summer long.  It’s a great activity for those days when you hear those dreaded words “I’m bored”.  This is also a chance for them to earn some money and use some, or all of it, to give back to your favorite cause or charity or maybe a family you know who has a need.

You are in business.  Adorable stand…yummy and refreshing lemonade and cookies…you built it and they WILL come!