In my recent post The Easy Way to Dismantle a Pallet, I provided a tutorial for salvaging wood from a pallet to use for other projects. For this one, I salvaged a large plank from a particularly old pallet. It was in pretty bad shape.
I used a Minwax Dark Walnut stain to cover up the imperfections on the aged wood.
Once the stain dried for a few hours, I applied a polyurethane coat as well.
I let the polyurethane dry for 24 hours. Then I used a set of stencils I had in my craft arsenal to plan out my lettering. I really wanted the sign to read “PUMPKIN”, but the stencils were too big to fit seven letters and I was too lazy to use anything other than the stencils I already had. So, I figured out a six letter word instead and ended up with “AUTUMN”.
I used painter’s tape to tape down the letters one at a time.
I picked up a paint sample from Lowes for $0.50! Did you know they have a shelf in the paint section where they sell discounted paint that no one wants? That’s where I found this great “Fragrant Cloves” (rustic orange) color. Totally by accident.
I used a small sponge that I got in a 3-pack from the Dollar Tree to dab the paint onto the wood inside my stencils.
I covered the space as best I could with a thin layer.
Then I removed the stencils and let the letters dry.
Once the paint was dry, I displayed my new sign proudly on my bale of hay on the front porch.
I made a few other signs using the same basic steps. Instead of staining the pallet wood, I painted it. Then I used some smaller stencils to do the lettering. I got my “PUMPKINS” sign after all. And a “CANDY CORN” one, too!
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