This is a project I dreamt up while I was mastering my homemade brew/ hot chocolate making skills. I decided to share my simple/ delicious recipe with my friends and family this Christmas but I needed to wow them as well of course. Hope you like it!

Step 1: Materials/tools

1.Wood pallet (one will do)

2.Mason jars (I went for 1 pint wide mouth jars for storage containers and 1 pint regular mouth jars to be used as mugs)

3.Hammer

4. Cutting tool ( I used an oscillating tool)

5. Sand paper/block (I used an oscillating tool for this too)

6. Tape measure

7.Pencil

8. Hole punch

Step 2: Dismantle the Pallet

The picture you see here is of the first pallet I tried to dismantle. The wood was too old, too dry, and too brittle. I moved on to look for another pallet. I was more selective this time. Just use your judgement.

I also salvaged all the nails and used them on the build.

Step 3: Find Your Length

The two sides will be made out of the section of the pallet called the runner board (These are the thicker, heavier boards) The back, front, and bottom will be made out the boards called the topdeck board.

For my coffee/hot chocolate care kit I decided to include 2 mugs and four storage jars. They will contain milk chocolate, white chocolate, coffee, and sugar. If you decide to go with more, or less jars, then your length will be different of course.

Line them up, measure.
Measure again!
Add 3 inches to account for the sides which are made from the runner board.
Cut...

I went with 20.5" 3"=23.5" this gave me a little wiggle room.

Step 4: Find Your Height

I confess, I did not measure during this step. I simply went with the height of two boards minus the width of the bottom board. This made the back wall. The side view will help make sense of this.

I also used the already cut curves of the runner board as seen in the pictures.

Measure.
Measure again!
Cut!

Step 5: Sand It!

This step is of course optional. Maybe you like the pallet as is, or maybe you're lazy. What every works. I only sanded it because I knew you were going to see it.

Here's what my pallet looked like before and after sanding.

Step 6: Nail It!

Using the old nails that you just hammered straight of course. No real instructions in this step. Just check out the picture and wing it!

Step 7: Making the Mugs

I used a hole punch and hammer to make two holes in the mason jar lid. I found it easier to flip the lid upside down for this.

Step 8: Stain It

To stain this project I decided to use espresso. It was just readily available, free, and, well an interesting experiment. It did not stain dark at all but a smooth noticeable difference, I think. Not so noticeable in the photo though. Maybe I'll stain the next project a few times and see if it makes any difference.

Step 9: Get Artistic

I used a wood burning pen to create this masterpiece. I found a font that was easy to trace and a picture as well. I printed them on normal printer paper and taped the paper to the wood. I then burned through the paper and into the wood. I removed the paper and touched it up.

I also bent an old spoon at the handle so it could be kept hanging from the back wall.

I hope you all enjoy this.