We at Deseret Industries recently challenged some DIY friends to upcycle some items from Deseret Industries. To make things more interesting, we picked the items! Each of our participants was mailed a mystery box of items to transform. Here’s what Anne did.

When DI invited me to do a DIY mystery box challenge, I was up for anything. I love a good upcycling challenge! I was especially excited to discover that my item was a vintage toolbox. So cool!

There are so many fun things I could have done. I am a huge fan of spray painting all the things, and I could have painted it and used it for holding office supplies or garden seeds or small toys. I love unconventional containers! But as soon as I opened the box, I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for.

I am a plant lady through and through. We have a huge vegetable garden, and I love growing flowers. It gives me life to grow things in the dirt. I knew right away that this toolbox would make a super cool planter!

I cleared out the toolbox and grabbed the mums, potting soil, and my gloves and shovel. I made sure to use two plants that were big enough to fill the toolbox and were tall enough to work with the box’s proportions.

Besides being unique and unconventional—which I really love—I was thrilled with the price. This toolbox was only $15 at DI whereas a planter this size (that isn’t made of a flimsy plastic) could go for as much as $50 at home décor or garden store.

Be on the lookout at your DI for a cool toolbox or other items you could turn into unconventional planters. I hope this project helped you catch the vision of how to think outside the box and use items in new ways!

Anne Cropper is a mom of five and a content creator. She lives with her family in her childhood home in Southern Oregon. Find her on Instagram @annecropper.