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Pinterest Inspired Pallet Art

Mar 12, 2012

I don’t know how many of you have heard of Pinterest, but it’s a virtual pinboard…sort of think of it like a scrapbook with all your clippings and cutouts from magazines and newspapers. A collection of amazing ideas and inspirations that you want to try out some day. And some you’ll always just dream about from time to time, but not necessarily ever accomplish them. Dreaming is free and fun, right?!

Sherry and Katie gave a challenge to actually create something we’ve pinned. My idea was inspired by the different Pallet Art I’ve been drooling over on Pinterest. It’s so amazing and there’s such a wide range of ideas a person can use. I’ve been wanting to try some of the ideas I’ve gotten over the last while, but never seem to get around to it.

I had a bridal shower to attend and was wracking my brain with what I could make to give as a gift. I like giving gifts that are a little more personalized. I guess it’s because I’m a bit of a sentimental person.

I especially liked the Pallet Art made by Katie Waltemeyer from Sweet Rose Studio. Click here to see Katie’s take on creating Pallet Art. Thanks so much to Katie for inspiring me to try my hand at Pallet Art!

I did mine a little differently. The neat thing about using wood from old pallets is that each piece is unique and special in its own way.

My dad has a large stack of old pallets badly needing attention…Horray for me that a person can obtain ideas through so many different sources. Instead of the pallets being hauled to the dump, I can actually put them to good use!

They’re in a big pile right now half ways covered in snow. I wasn’t sure if I should wait till spring or bring one in to dry. I was desperate enough that I picked one pallet and started removing the planks. One of the planks split a bit on the end which just added to the rustic look. I thoroughly sanded the boards in hopes of warding off any splinters which is bound to happen with old wood like this. (Huge thanks to my lovely sister-in-law for standing on the pallet while I removed the boards!) I attached two leftover pine pieces on the back and used wood glue and an air nailer to hold the boards together.

My next step was to type up my saying and cut out the vinyl. I used the fonts Book Antiqua and My Nerd for the saying.

I had some old vinyl to use up, so I cut it out and used the negative as a stencil. I just used plain white crafters paint. Something that I had on hand. Remember, I only had an evening to complete this project…so there wasn’t a lot of time to go buy supplies.

Once the painting was done and dry, I sanded over the entire piece. I tried to distress some spots a bit more than others. I used 3 coats of the Clear Coat Wood Shield Acrylic Polyurethane Wood Finish to seal everything. This is the part that took the longest as I had to let it dry in between coats. It made me work into the weeee hours of the night when everyone else was fast asleep in their cozy beds.

I finished it off by attaching two screws (I pre-drilled holes so that the wood wouldn’t splinter….actually my brother did it for me

) to the pine boards on the back. I used wire for hanging wall hangings and wrapped it around the screws so that it was solid.

I was sooooo excited with how it turned out! I must admit I was a little leery at first. :{

Taadaah!! Here it is!

Now I want to try some more in different styles. And I also want to make one that I can keep for myself!

I’ll be making these to sell, so if you want to order one let me know. I have to come up with some sort of price yet. I’ll be making a few different sizes, so if you want a smaller one that’s a little more affordable there’ll be that option as well. I’ll post an update once I have my pricing together.