Family Room Pallet Art

The wall in our living room above the couch has been blank ever since we moved in a year-and-a-half ago. Which is probably why when someone stopped by to pick something up that I was selling, they asked if we were moving in or moving out! I was just waiting on the right piece of artwork and hadn't found it yet. 

I stumbled across this quote awhile back while drooling over tiny houses. I have seen several variations of this quote and I'm not really sure where it originally came from. It fits our family perfectly though. We have moved around a bunch and occasionally had to live apart due to circumstances that were out of our control. The only time we ever feel at home is when we are all together - wherever that may be at the time. 

I decided to use pallet wood to turn this phrase into a piece of artwork because I wanted something large to fill up that wall and I already had some pallet wood hanging out in the garage. So whatever phrase or design you design to use for your project, here are the basics on putting together a sign made of pallet wood.

Attach your pallet wood together:

Take four thin strips of wood and use short wood screws to attach them to each pallet plank. We have had these hanging around in our garage for awhile now and I don't remember where they came from. I think paint stir sticks would work as well though.

Make sure you pre-drill your holes or your wood will split. I forgot this step with my first one. :(

To hang it: 

Draw a center line onto the back of your pallet boards and attach two more wood screws, making sure they are each equal distance from the center line. Leave the head of the screw above the wood just a bit. Wrap some picture wire around one screw then stretch it over to the other screw and wrap it around the head of that one as well. Don't stretch it too tight - you will want there to be some slack in the line. Trim off any excess wire.

To actually decorate the pallet wood, I stained it with a walnut stain, let it dry 15 minutes, wiped off the excess, then let it dry completely. To add the lettering, I used my Silhouette to cut a stencil out of vinyl and stuck it in place. Then I used a foam brush dipped in a little bit of the same gray paint that I had used on the walls. Instead of brushing the paint on I dabbed it to give it an uneven look. Once I was done painting, I removed the stencil. Then I took a paper towel and lightly blotted the paint so it wasn't as thick (make sure to use a clean area of paper towel each time). I let the paint dry completely before lightly going over the entire thing with some sand paper to age it some more and it was done.

We all really like this piece of art and the meaning behind it but we have been having a little battle of the OCD over it. As soon as they saw it, my husband and son both commented on the lack of punctuation. I left it that way because I found it more aesthetically pleasing but now I'm not sure. I will probably add some punctuation later. :)

 

  

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