Tent weights...

...for craft shows and for camping.

I haven't done an outdoor show in years, but last year when visiting Artwalk I saw so many of the vendors tents blow over in the wind that I decided I needed some tent weights for my upcoming show in August.

I have seen people use cinder blocks, buckets of sand, jugs of water, work out weights, and pvc filled with cement.  You could purchase a variety of different weights (google it if you wish...the variety is pretty amazing), but you know me...I'm all about using what I have on hand.  Here is my version:

We have just finished replacing some metal and brick pillars on our front porch with wooden columns, so my husband generously offered to cut the pieces of pipe into 2 foot lengths for me.  They were already heavy as they were so I thought they would make a good start.

I had this bag of concrete left over in the basement from some other project,  I do believe it's about 3 or 4 dollars if you have to buy one.

The only thing I had to buy was this package of eye hooks.  I bought the biggest I could find, and a package of 5 cost about $4.00.

 I only mixed enough cement to fill one pipe at a time since I didn't want to mix the whole bag (the instructions are printed right on the bag if you haven't done it before).

I scooped the wet cement into my piece of pipe.  Make sure to use something long to tamp it down as you go.  You want to remove all of the air pockets and make it as heavy as you can.

I let the cement set a little before inserting the eye hook.  Give it a little jiggle to make sure all of the cement forms down around the threads.  In the picture above, the second one from the left is most solid.  In the future, I would sink them all that low.  The other ones can't really be pulled out, but they do wiggle a tiny bit.

The weights will be getting a test run on our "dining pavilion" (the canopy I will be using for my craft show) when we go camping in a few weeks.  That should determine if they are heavy enough as they are or if I need to make some more.  For the actual show, they will be wrapped in burlap or fabric and tied shut with a ribbon - you know, to make them look pretty.

For those of you anywhere near the area, here is a list of vendors that will be at the show.  There are going to be pioneer games for the kids as well as music and buskers and demonstrations of old-fashioned skills.  I'm quite looking forward to it.

Linking up with: Homemade Mondays over at Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity
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