DIY Autumn Pallet Sign

You know by now that I love Fall. I’ve been raving about it for the past few weeks, but this is my favorite fall project this season.  I shared it last week for So You Think You’re Crafty. Now I can’t wait to share the tutorial. I love the look of pallet art, but the thought of finding a pallet and then the work to take it apart to get it the way I want has turned me off. So I’ve made my own solution. 

Let’s start with what I used. 

• two – 2 x 4 planks (48 inches long, then cut in half, I got mine at Lowe’s and they cut the wood for free)
• Nails
• two small pieces of wood for the support backing (about an inch thick and cut just shorter than all the planks lined up together (see photos below)
• Wood cut out letters for the “AUTUMN” (I got mine at a local craft store)
• Vinyl letters for the “fall in love with” buy or cut out on your cutting machine
• stain
• gold & red glitter (I mixed mine)
• fake fall leaves (I scored these at Wal-Mart for 97 cents)
• Gold spray paint
• Mod Podge & paint brush
• Hot Glue Gun & glue

Once the wood is cut, sand the edges if they are a little rough. Line planks in order and on which side you want to show on the front and leave the same amount of space between each plank.

Use nails to fix the support boards to the planks. Make sure they nails will not be longer than the planks so that they don’t poke through on the front of the planks. Nail one support to the right side and one to the left side.

Put at least one nail in each board and then add a couple extra just to be safe. Repeat on the other side.

At the end it should look like this on the back side of the sign.

Before I started staining, I wanted to do a test stain on the back to make sure I liked how the stain worked with the wood.

Stain the front of the sign and the sides. I used a sock that I dipped into the stain and wiped it on. Then I would turn the sock and wipe off the excess stain. T-shirt material works great for this too.

While the stain on the sign is drying, I painted the “AUTUMN” letters using a metallic gold. I love the looks of gold for fall. 

Paint the letters with a couple of coats of spray paint until completely covered with the gold.

After the stain and letters have dried, I glued the “AUTUMN” letters to the third plank down. I traced the letters on the back with the hot glue gun and then press down onto the sign.

On the second plank down right above the AUTUMN, I applied the vinyl “fall in love with.” I right aligned the words. 

Using Mod Podge, I really wanted to create a wind swirl with the leaves caught in the wind. I used a paint brush and free handed the swirl around the left side and under the letters on the planks.

Quickly after I created the wind swirl with the Mod Podge, I sprinkled the glitter along the swirl. After it is all glittered, I tried to knock off the excess glitter.

I let the glitter dry and then started playing around with how I wanted the leaves to be swirling in the wind. I kept moving them around until I like the arrangement. At this point I would take a picture, because I took all of mine off and forgot where I had them. 

Using hot glue put a thin line of glue down the middle of the leaf and glue each onto the pallet sign.

After the glue has dried, the sign is complete! 

I love how it turned out. Believe it or not my inspiration for this project comes from Pocahontas. During the song “Colors of the Wind,” the leaves are gorgeous and fluttering in the wind. Do you see it in the sign, cause I totally do and I love it.

Not only does this sign look awesome and is a unique decor piece, it was under $15 to create. The wood was super cheap and didn’t come with the work of a pallet.

Have you taken apart a pallet and repurposed it? I haven’t taken one apart, but I love the look of the pallet art.

Linking up with: Time to Sparkle, Craft-O-Maniac, The 36th Avenue, Linky Party Palooza