Holiday DIY Pallet Sign

For our second day in the Christmas series, I created a simple Holiday Pallet Sign using materials I had on hand. Working with pallets is a fun way to add to create low cost decor.

Tutorial on putting together a simple holiday pallet sign.

My husband and I were having lunch the other day and noticed a few abandoned pallets by the dumpster in the parking lot of the restaurant. My view is that if it's touching a dumpster, it's up for grabs. We picked the cleanest one and away we went.

It sat in the garage for a few weeks until I got up the courage to hack it apart with the circular saw {I've told you all about my circular saw fears before, no?}. You'll be so proud. I did this all by myself while I was at home alone one day. I had 911 on stand-by in case I cut off a limb.

I just rough cut boards off the pallet into 12 inch lengths...give or take. I ~~hate~~ loathe pulling pallet boards off with a crow bar {it's splinter city, people...been there, done that}.

Used my trusty Gorilla Glue to begin the adhering process. Is there anything better than Gorilla Glue?

I secured them to an extra board we had in the garage {aka, the dark pit of random wood scraps}.

Overkill. It's the only way I know.
Screwed in each and every piece twice. Some thrice.

Then I hauled the piece inside to create my letters for it on the Silhouette Cameo. Have I told you how much I am in LOVE with this machine? Gah...I can't get over how I lived without it before. Don't forget, from now until 12/8/13, you can save some serious bucks at the Silhouette Black Friday sale by using the code MOPPING. Click here to check it out!

And get vinyl and other materials at their online shop for 40% off and free shipping over $25...also using code MOPPING. Click here for that.

I did this project before I purchased any Transfer Paper. But I saw a tutorial online for transferring vinyl with blue painter's tape...it worked pretty well! I just adhered each letter to the pallet piece. I will say usually it's better to use a smoother surface when working with the vinyl. This was a little tricky.

I ended up using two different vinyl colors...it didn't matter since I was reversing out my design by painting it. I wanted the raw wood to show in the letter part.

I used a silver metallic spray paint and coated it with light strokes. The spray paint made it easier since the pallet was so rough. If I had used regular paint, it may have seeped under the vinyl since I wasn't able to get it on there perfectly.

After it dried, I just pulled the vinyl off.

I liked the random wood variations from plank to plank.

Rustic and simple.

Stop by tomorrow for Day Three in the Christmas Series. I'll be sharing a Washi Tape Holiday Wreath. Yesterday, we kicked off the series with some delicious Rosemary Shortbread Stars: