how to make a pallet sign WITHOUT the pallet

Have you guys noticed how everything pallet-related is really hot right now?

I’m not going to lie, it’s taken me a while to jump onto the pallet bandwagon, but I might be a little addicted now. Watch out, cause you can bet this won’t be my last pallet project.

I made this cute little “choose happy” Pallet Sign. It was really easy and fun, and I think it turned out really cute!

You can see the blue pallet sign (and a video of how I made it) {HERE}

(hover your mouse over the image above to “pin” it to your pinterest board)

 Pallet art is great because it fills up such a big space, and is really, really cheap. 

 This piece has really made the entire space come together. I just love how it looks above my dining room table. 

It is so cheerful and bright. It definitely brightens up the room and adds more character to the space. And, it’s totally custom. All my own. 

 Would you like to make you’re own pallet art?

You’ll need some pallet wood (read bellow) a couple of scrap 1×2’s, a hammer and nails (or impact driver
and screws), and paint. That’s it.

****editor’s note: I have made about a million of these pallet signs now, and I found the BEST tool for hooking them together. It’s the Ryobi Airstrike Stapler, and it’s Ah-mazing! Amazon has a great price on it {here}. Do yourself a favor and ask Santa to bring it to you for Christmas.****

And… I lied. This wasn’t made out of a pallet. Not at all.

Because I’m lazy, I didn’t want to pull apart a pallet. And I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so I made a trip to Lowe’s with these three. Yes, this is my life. And they weren’t this happy the whole time, don’t let them fool you.

 So I bought some cedar planks to use instead of pallet wood. These are the cedar boards you use for building fences and they were about $2.00 each. They are dog-eared on one end, but I had the guy at Lowe’s cut the dog ear off and then cut them in half for me. I ended up using 5- 3 foot boards for my sign. So it cost around 6 dollars to make the whole thing, which is way better than cutting apart a pallet.

Line your boards up how you want them and then nail or screw your scrap 1×2 boards onto the back, or staple them together with your Airstrike Stapler
that Santa is going to bring you. You could just use the same wood you used for the planks if you don’t have scraps of wood cluttering your garage like I do.

 Now, I said nail or screw… but really, just screw the wood together. You’ll be much better off. You’ll need 1 1/4 inch screws.

 Once you’ve got your sign put together, use a pencil and trace out whatever you’re painting on it. If you wanted to be really precise, you could even tape it off.

 And start painting.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an artist to do this project. It’s just basically painting straight lines from a quarter-circle. And it doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, imperfection adds to the charm of the whole thing.

 Once you’ve got it all painted, you’ll want to stencil your words on.

I’ve used vinyl as a stencil before, with my painted tray, my painted milk can,  and my scrap wood pumpkin sign.

This is the same technique. You basically stick your vinyl on, paint over it, and then take it off. Really easy.

 And you’re done. I had my husband screw some wire onto the back of the whole thing to hang it up with.

 But it doesn’t necessarily have to hang on the wall. I think it would look great on a mantel or, sitting on top of a shelf. If I didn’t have Murray the Moose, I might stick it up on my built in shelf.

Be creative. The possibilities are endless, and you don’t have to do it exactly like mine.

The charm of the pallet is that it isn’t perfect, and if you look closely at mine, it’s not perfect at all, but I love it anyway.

So be brave and go for it! And send me a picture when you’re done!

::::UPDATE:::::

After I finished my sign, and it was hanging on my wall, I didn’t really love the look of the natural wood showing through. So, I switched it up a little bit. 

 Instead of using the vinyl stencil like I showed you above, I used the negative space of the vinyl. It’s the part you usually throw away, and I painted it white instead.

 And yes, I still love it!

This isn’t the only pallet art I’ve made. I’m making one for my bathroom too! See it {here}.

If you liked this project, I would love it if you would share it with a friend. You can hover your mouse over the image below and pin it to your pinterest board, or share it on Facebook or Instagram. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram for more ideas like this!

 

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If you liked this project, you might like some of my other DIY projects:

How to frame a bathroom mirror

 

Farmhouse Storage Coffee Table

 

DIY Farmhouse Bench

 

Industrial Farmhouse Console Table

 

Sturdy 2×4 Garden Bench

 

DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table (Ikea Hack)

 

Farmhouse Buffet free building plans

 

How to install Board & Batten the easy way

 

Build a farmhouse bench for under $20

DIY Pallet Art (without using a pallet)