Here, hold my umbrella

Late last fall, Walmart, Target and other stores put their patio furniture on clearance. I happily obliged, buying some chaise lounges and a big patio umbrella at insanely cheap prices. (Related: This summer's going to be AWESOME!) But my store had sold their entire stock of umbrella stands, which made purchasing an umbrella pointless.

Problem: Quality umbrella stands cost between $25-100. Yes, $100!
(And, yes, I checked prices online.)
Solution: Make my own umbrella stand for less than $20.

I was going to do the whole paint-bucket-and-concrete trick, until a helpful sales associate at Home Depot suggested I use a flowerpot when I couldn't find a neutral-colored (empty) paint bucket.

It turned out to be a great idea, especially after I found a length of PVC pipe that fit snugly in the flowerpot's drain hole. I then used about a third of a bag of sand to weigh the flowerpot down and keep the PVC pipe from shifting. I'm proud of the end result:

The umbrella stand is light enough to bring indoors, which I do during the winter to keep any water that has collected from freezing. (At some point, I'll paint the PVC to better match the flowerpot.)

Total cost, minus paint, was about $18, and I still have sand left over for some future project (or icy walkways).