Do you have airline crates you’d like to mark with your name? I did. Rather than quickly handwrite my name with a marker, I wanted to make it look a little nicer. In an hour, I had two crates, neatly marked with my name and a graphic. Here’s how:

Supplies: craft knife, permanent marker (I used a chisel-point Sharpie), cutting board, tape, paper or transparent sheet, computer, and printer.

1. Wash and dry your crates.
2. Open your word processing program.
3. Type your name in an easy-to-read font. Size it to fit your crate.
4. Add a graphic, if desired (bone, pawprint, dog silhouette, your logo, etc.)
5. Print your name on paper or a transparent sheet (like an overhead projector sheet).
6. With a sharp craft knife, carefully cut out the letters (and graphic, if used). Now you have a stencil you can mark multiple crates with.
7. Tape the stencil securely to your clean and dry crate.
8. Carefully color in the open areas with a permanent marker.
   • You will need to hold the interior of the stencil steady while you mark.
   • For letters with enclosed negative space, like “a”, “o” and “e”, you’ll have to free-hand that area.
   • My crate was textured, so I had to go over the areas a few times to get full coverage.
9. Carefully remove the stencil.
10. Your crate should dry quickly, but let it sit undisturbed for a moment. You can carefully blot with a paper towel to make sure the ink has set.

You’re all done!