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lemonade standDo your kids want a lemonade stand, but you’re balking at the idea because you don’t have anywhere to store it between uses?  That was my thought when I decided to build this portable one for my grandkids.

I’m at a place where I want to declutter my home and my life.  I am so tired of “stuff”.  Do you feel that way?  The longer you live in one spot the more “stuff” you seem to acquire. 

We had been planning a yard sale for a few months timed in conjunction with a community wide yard sale held every year.  I wanted the kids to have a lemonade stand, so I started thinking about a way to make one that could easily be put away for another time. 

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We had a small white folding table that I had my eye on for this project.   It was stained with some of my previous painting projects so it needed to be painted.  Since Paul is much better at spray painting than me, I asked him to paint it for me.  And of course, because he’s a sweet guy (brownie points girls!), he did it for me.  If you choose to paint your table, be sure you purchase a paint that will adhere to plastic well, or give your table a coat of primer prior to spray painting.

Building a lemonade stand

Paul spray painting the table for me.

I made a trip to the local hobby store and purchased some bright and colorful fabric because my plans included making a skirt for the table.  I sewed a hem in the bottom and the sides and then a pocket on the top, basically like a rod pocket curtain.  Then instead of a rod, I worked elastic through the pocket to gather the fabric into a skirt, stitching the elastic in place at both ends.  I then used Velcro to secure the skirt to the table.

Building a lemonade stand

Sewing the hem.

Building a lemonade stand

Sewing the rod pocket to hold the elastic.

Building a lemonade stand

If you aren’t familiar with how you work elastic or a string through fabric, this is how. Pin a large safety pin in the end of whatever it is you want to work through and then you can work it through with your finger tips.

Building a lemonade stand

Elastic worked all the way through and then pinned to hold it in place while I stitched it on the machine.

Building a lemonade stand

Rod pocket top completed and skirt gathered.

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Velcro was placed in several places to secure the skirt to the table.

My next plan was a lemonade banner for the table and a way to hang it that would be sturdy enough to hold it, but could be taken apart for storage.  We chose to use PVC pipe and place it in a wooden base that would hold it securely.  This required two blocks of wood for each side. A hole the circumference of the PVC pipe was drilled in the middle of the smaller block, once again by Paul, and then it was secured to the top of the larger block.  The PVC pipe would then be placed in it and it would sit securely on the table and not be easily tipped or blown over by the wind or children, etc.

Building a lemonade stand

Stand completed that would hold the PVC pipe securely.

The PVC pipe was measured the correct width to fit the table and to obtain the height wanted.  Then we connected the pipe with, wait for it…..PVC pipe connectors.  Never saw that coming, right!  Next everything was painted yellow to match the table.

Back again at the local hobby store, I purchased a banner made from chalkboard paper.  My letters for LEMONADE could have been drawn on with chalk, but I saw some really cute colorful stick on letters that looked like chalk and I purchased those instead.  After all, my handwriting isn’t the best and time is money!

Building a lemonade stand

Perfect letters found for the lemonade banner.

The table was ready, the skirt was made and the stand for the banner was completed.  I wanted to spruce it up a little, so I added helium filled balloons to each side.  Three of my balloons escaped as soon as I placed it outside, so much for not tying them on tightly enough.  Lesson learned!

When I was in the hobby store picking out my fabric, they had an entire aisle of clearanced summer decorative items.  I found a cute lemonade welcome sign and two colorful baskets.  I filled one with lemons and the other with napkins to sit on the table.  Cups, lemonade and ice were purchased and all was ready.

The grandkids loved their lemonade stand.  They were even more thrilled with their profits.  And what little entrepreneurs!  Every yard sale customer was approached and politely asked if they would like to buy some lemonade or lollypops.  The lollypops were their idea and were a cute addition.

Cute as can be! Lemonade stand that can easily be stored away for another day! #lemonadestand Click To Tweet
lemonade stand

Happy little entrepreneurs!

Once the yard sale was over, everything except the table, was taken apart and packed away in this under bed storage container.  The table itself folds into a 2 ft x 2 ft  x 6 inch size and can easily be stored under the bed or on a shelf in the garage or basement.

lemonade stand

Everything packed away in this under bed container.

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Table and container.

It had been years since I had sewn, except for mending things, and I actually really enjoyed making the skirt.  The entire project was fun and I think it turned out great.  It received lots of nice comments from customers at the yard sale too, which is always nice!

What are your ideas for a lemonade stand?

There are lots of other very creative, talented lemonade stand builders out there.  Here are just a few of them:

DIY Lemonade Stand at the Nerd’s Wife

Vintage Lemonade Stand at Simply Kierste

Super Easy DIY Lemonade Stand at Happy Go Lucky

Our DIY Lemonade Stand at East Coast Creative

Lemonade Stand for Kids at Lia Griffith

This post will be shared at the lovely link parties found on my “Where I Party” page!

{ 12 comments }
Bernadette Laganella July 15, 2016, 4:36 pm

This is so clever that it almost leaves me speechless. It would make a great Christmas present.

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Teresa July 16, 2016, 10:30 am

Thank you for your kind words! In some southern states it would probably work for kids to sell lemonade year round. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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Nikki Gwin July 18, 2016, 4:21 pm

This is a great idea! My grandkids had a lemonade stand last Saturday and I think I will spruce up theirs with some of your ideas. Especially the pvc banner holder.
🙂 gwingal

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Teresa July 19, 2016, 8:38 am

Thank you Nikki! Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for reading!

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Joy@aVintageGreen July 19, 2016, 10:11 pm

I enjoyed seeing the lemonade stand you and your husband made for the grandchildren. Compact for storing and I am guessing it will be put to use by the kids many times.
Joy

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Teresa July 21, 2016, 12:12 am

Thank you and yes, without a doubt it will. They had so much fun and it turned out to be quite a profitable venture for them!

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Pamela Shank July 23, 2016, 9:28 pm

So cute!! Great ideas, Love the colors of your fabric. The little ones sure look like they are having fun.

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Teresa July 24, 2016, 7:48 am

Thanks! Yes, they had a lot of fun and made enough profits to make a trip to Toys-R-Us and each buy a Lego set. Thank you for reading and commenting!

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Olivia- Reinvented Collection July 24, 2016, 5:14 pm

This is the cutest little lemonade stand- EVER! I would definitely stop for a cup and give the little Lemonade-istas a nice tip in their tip jar. Hee, hee. Your little grandson smile really shows how tickled he is with his adventure in small-business. 😉 So precious.

Unfortunately, I don’t have children of my own, but I do have a little baby niece and a nephew who will enjoy this when they are a tad bit older. I thoroughly enjoy fun blog posts with ideas like this for the kiddies. Plus, they are fantastic for people like me whose job it is, is to be a spoiling, doting, super-sized kid herself. LOL

I will share this on my Facebook page and tag my sister-in-law. I do have a “business” FB page, but my personal one is completely open to friend requests to all nice, creative people.

Blog shares and pretty picture tend to go a little further on that personal page than they do on the finicky old business page. I hope I can tag you or find you on FB.

Thank you for joining and sharing this project with us at Thursday Favorite Things!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and the little ones made a little bit of spending money too. <3

Olivia
co-hostess TFT

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Teresa July 25, 2016, 7:29 pm

Thank you for reading and sharing!! And thank you for hosting Thursday Favorite Things also. The little ones did very well with their stand and enjoyed a trip to Toys-R-Us after.

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Kvatrisa November 10, 2017, 8:19 am

Such a smart setup, really awesome portable stand for lemonade, a great great share, thank you !

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Teresa November 10, 2017, 8:34 pm

Thank you. We used it a second time this summer and the kids love it. Thank you for stopping by!

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