Category: pallet wood

Bracket Shaped Sign – I will be Grateful for this day

Bracket shapes seem to be quite popular these days.  I’ve made a bracket shaped blackboard before, it was basically square in overall shape.  You can see it here.

Recently I saw a post at Sawdust and Embryos where they made a beautiful bracket shaped sign which was more rectangular in shape.  I even emailed Beth to ask if it was okay to copy the idea and she said “sure!”

This is what I came up with:

Beth’s sign had the wood running vertically, mine was horizontal, here’s her beautiful work:

As well, mine is smaller, but I am going to make more, using the wood vertically and making some larger.  I just had some pallet wood that I liked the rough graining of, so this was the maximum size I could get out of it.  I’ll show you the steps.
While I didn’t take a photo of this glue up, I do glue the edges of my pieces together.  No screws, no back slats, just glue.  Here’s a different glue up, not this sign, but the way I glue up all my signs:

Once the glue dried I traced out a bracket shape that would fit the wood I had, 17 1/2″ long was the longest I could go with this particular wood, so the width is 17 1/2″.  I used 5 pieces which came to 13 1/2″ in height.

I put a solid coat of turquoise paint all over the sign:

Now, I purposely picked a rough wood, this way when you sand it, your paint will stay in the lower/deeper recesses and you will sand away the paint on the higher spots.  (If your wood is smooth to start with, you will just sand most of it away and not have such a contrast)

After this, I paint on a coat of dark stain and then wipe off most of it:

I love this look, it’s the same I did with my pallet table:

Then I printed out a nice saying on my computer and hand painted it with white craft paint:

Here’s another way to use this bracket shaped sign, more like the original one, which uses a family name:

Thanks to Beth at Sawdust and Embryos for the inspiration and for being so generous in saying I could copy her idea. Check out her blog, she has some creative projects there.

Everything I make is for sale, please contact me if you’d like this sign or any others, or if you’d like me to make you something personalized.

This “Grateful” sign is 17 1/2″ wide and 13 1/2″ tall with a sawtooth hanger on the back. This sign is sold, but I can make a similar one for you. It is available through me by email, or at my etsy shop for $40.

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Canada Flag Original Design

I use pallet wood for a lot of different things.  This time I wanted to make a Canadian flag but in a different way than usual.

My pallet wood pieces are 5/8″ thick and 2 3/4″ wide, cut to 12″ long.

I used 7 pieces, 4 painted red and 3 painted white, they are joined with screw eyes.

Final size, top to bottom, 12″ wide x 24″ long and very heavy at about 4 lbs. 
$50
Happy Canada Day

“Welcome to our trailer” sign

A nice couple came to the Farmers’ Market a few weeks ago wanting a sign to put out in front of their trailer.  I do a lot of custom signs and take with me, to the market, signs with different fonts, styles and sizes.
This is what they chose: 
They liked the font I used here for my “Welcome Family and Friends” circular sign. This font is called “Chopin Script.”
I can make any size and they chose a rectangular one about 14″ long x 7″ high, which I made using two pieces of pallet wood that I glued together.
Buyers appreciate being able to have signs made to their own specifications.

Union Jack

I made a Union Jack sign about a year ago and posted it here

It’s still for sale, but I made another one anyway.

This flag sign is made with pallet wood glued together vertically. I have very solid, almost 1″ thick wood from pallets. I used seven pieces that are just over 3 1/2″ wide and total 25″, I cut them each 12 1/2″ long.

There is something fascinating about the way the Union Jack is designed.  Maybe it’s my mathematical mind that likes it, but I think it’s great.

I found this online and it shows how to correctly paint the flag with the proper proportions:

Note that the side angled parts are six sections with the middle line running through the corners.  Then the stripes are painted with three, or half of the sections white and two red and another white section.  It’s important that the larger white section is always on the bottom, or last, going clockwise. (1 white, 2 red, 3 whites always in that order as you go around the flag starting at the northeast quadrant)

Also note that the width of that middle diagonal stripe (all 6 parts) is the same as the width of the large red cross.

As I said, I find it fascinating…

After painting I sanded off the paint, to make it look distressed, using my Random Orbital Sander (ROS) and then I wiped over the whole thing with a brown stain. It took me over 2 1/2 hours just to paint the flag!

Here’s a closeup:

This new Union Jack sign is for sale for $50.

The first Union Jack I painted was made with some pine tongue and groove wood I had and for that one I ran the wood horizontally:

I’m also working on a Canadian flag, I’ll post that soon.

Sharing at the following great blogs:
Common Ground
My Repurposed Life
too much time on my hands

Flower Crate from Pallet Wood

I made this crate from pallet wood I had and 3 Mason type jars that I bought at the grocery store, that once contained spaghetti sauce.
To get the correct length to cut, I put the jars right on a piece of wood and put some scraps between to represent the dividers, allowing just enough space to fit the jars in with a bit of room on each side. For my jars the length was 12 1/2″.

I used the full width of my wood (it is 3 5/8″) so that is the height of the crate as well as the inside bottom width.

I placed one board on the bottom and the two upright sides and measured to get the size of the end pieces.  I cut those and also the middle dividers which fit between the sides. I used a pin nailer to attach the parts together.

I applied a quick coat of my vinegar and steel wool mixture and let that dry, then I dry brushed white paint over the top. After that I hand painted “Les Fleurs” on one side and “Flowers” on the other.

I sold this crate, along with the jars and the flowers shown, at the first Farmers’ Market I took it to.  So many of my items have gone to the market and home again many times and this sold only a few days after I made it.  Wish I could figure out what people want… I’m not sure if I should make another one?

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Pallet Tables

I am so behind in my blogging, I will have to just do some quick posts to try to catch up…

I made two tables last year, completely out of pallet wood.

I even had some 2 x 2s with my pallets.  Those I cut in two to make the length of the legs (about 19″ long”) so there was no wastage. The construction is basic and you can see it here:

and here is a close up:

I don’t nail or screw down the tops because they can change widths with changes in humidity, so I use Z clips that insert into a groove in the apron of the table.  This allows the top to expand and contract as the clips move in and out a bit while still in the groove.
One of my tables was painted with a dry brush technique using turquoise paint on the legs and aprons and white solid paint on the top:
For the second second table I used a technique I had not tried before but found Becky using for some of the creations at her blog Beyond the Picket Fence (thanks Becky!)  First the top was painted in turquoise and then after it dried I sanded it smooth so that the turquoise paint was still in the crevices of the rough pallet wood.  Then I wiped stain over the painted top and wiped off the extra.  Also, I stained the legs and apron.
Here’s a close up of the top with my little model:
The top is 18″ x 18″ and the table is 20″ high:
I’ve used a lot of pallet wood in my creations, it’s hard to believe so many people just throw it away!
Homespun Happenings
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