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It’s that time again! Silhouette Challenge time! This month’s theme was all about home decor. Which is very appropriate since I just moved into my new home. Do you know I don’t even have one thing hanging on my wall yet? I just can’t decide what sort of style I am leaning towards. Anyway I had two big events coming up (Signature Finishes opening and Brimfield) where I needed to create some pallet signs to sell. So I thought I would share those with you this month.
I’ve been pretty obsessed with making signs these days. I think its the combination of picking out the sayings or image thats going to be used and actually painting. I work on the computer all day I love to come home and be hands on with tools or painting. It really is therapeutic.
I start first by cutting down the pallets. Which you can read about that process here. Once I have the pallet cut down I lay out pieces that sort of fit together and cut them down to a manageable size.
Update: I was told about two other products that make dismantling a pallet easy and don’t require power tools. Pallet Buster and Deck Wrecker (affiliate links). Now they are a bit more expensive than a crow bar and a hammer but are worth checking out if you are going to be taking apart pallets a lot.
Once the pallets are cut down. I use the scrap pieces as the backing or the support. Tip: When you are nailing the support pieces don’t nail straight down into the wood always nail at an angle and then nail next nail at a different angle. This will insure that you can’t just pull the support piece off. I found when I nailed the support piece straight over time or if you dropped the sign the backing could come loose.
Now when cutting vinyl I have always found that I have the most success when I cut on a mat. So for pallet signs I decided to buy the 12×24 mat. I bought it about 2 months ago and I have used it more than my actual 12×12 mat! Only thing is you need to clear enough space on your work table to allow the mat to go through each side of the cameo (about 4 feet)
There are two different ways to make pallet signs. You can either paint the wood before stenciling or you can paint the wood with the stencil. I tend to do both. I actually hand place the vinyl most of the time so I can use the excess image as a second stencil. For example the deer above. Vinyl prices can add up so why not get the most use out of one cut.
When I am making a large amount of signs I lay all the vinyl down on the wood first and then paint them all at the same time.
I use a small 1 inch brush from Harbor Freight. Try not yo over saturate your brush you can always do a second coat incase you need it. Once the paint is dry (about 20-30 mins) peel back the vinyl. You may need to do a few touch ups but for the most part you will get crisp lines!
Love this project? Pin it for later here.
Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?
My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!
1. The Moberg Family // 2. Sandpaper and Glue // 3. American Honey // 4. Weekend Craft // 5. Grey Luster Girl // 6. From Wine to Whine // 7. Cutesy Crafts // 8. Practically Functional // 9. Home At Eight // 10. McCall Manor // 11. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 12. Adventures in All Things Food // 13. Create it. Go! // 14. Please Excuse My Craftermath… // 15. The Outlandish Momma // 16. The Sensory Emporium // 17. My Paper Craze // 18. unOriginal Mom // 19. My Favorite Finds // 20. Architecture of a Mom // 21. Black and White Obsession //
Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you do purchase from these links I receive a small percentage which allows me to put it towards future projects to continue provide quality content to Weekend Craft readers.
Do you use anything on top of your paint to seal it?
These are great! I like how you use both pieces of vinyl.
Shannon @ Bohemian Junktion
Tell me a little about your vinyl process. Are like you printing an image on to the vinyl and cutting it? What kind of printer and vinyl are you using?
Hi Rich,
I don’t print on vinyl what I do is I use a silhouette cameo to cut the vinyl design that I create on the silhouette software.
I haven’t done anything like this before, but I am dying to start… What do you use to make your vinyl stencils?
Hi Jenna,
I use vinyl and a silhouette cameo which is a cutting machine. I usually use Oracle vinyl or really whatever I have around.
Do you have to put any kind of sealer on the wood? do you paint both sides?
Hey Stacey,
I didn’t use a sealer on this wood since I am looking more for the shabby chic look so if some of the grain comes through it just adds to it. That being said I have definitely done some projects where I’ve sanded down the pallets and used a sealer.
Hi!Do you use a certain kind/brand of paint? Love these!Thank you!!
Hi Taylor!
Thanks for stopping by. I acutally mostly use latex paint. I get the small paint samples at the hardware store and they seem to last a while. Also if you hit up the opps section the small cans are .50 to $1.00.
I don´t know even how to begin. What are these machines you use? Is there anywhere you give a step by step right from the beginning? Where you get the machines, how much cost? I don’t know about vinyl, mats, anything!Where do I go to. Learn?
Hi Gale,Love that you’re so curious. The machine that I use is the Silhouette Cameo https://amzn.to/1jbRCeu . I bought mine on amazon you can get a starter kit bundle for around $269. I would recommend the Silhouette School blog to dive right in! Also under my projects tab I have a whole slew of silhouette tutorials. Enjoy!
Hi there! Loving your blog and am so glad I discovered it! One question– what size nails do you use for the pallet support on the back? Thanks!
Hey Meghan. Thanks so much for stopping by. So the nail sizes I use vary. What I always do is hold the length of the nail up to the two pieces of wood and choose a nail size that is about 3/4 of the thickness of the two pieces of wood. Also always make sure to nail at a slight angle and the next nail do the opposite angle that way the board is secure and you can’t pop the board off.
Michelle…love it all! I have the Cricut, and the final I get for it is from craft store…but for some reason really doesn’t stick well. I’m not sure it would stick to the rough surface of the pallet boards. Any suggestions on a better vinyl….?
The wood would probably wear it down faster than other materials – but it might be re-usable for long enough to make it better priced than using vinyl.