I was totally dedicated to making every. single. Christmas gift. this year. I even dedicated an entire month to it here on the blog.
And then December hit and my plan flew out the window. I’ve learned my lesson now for next year; apparently starting in the summer will be a much better plan of action.
I did get one project finished before Christmas that I’m especially proud of. I made this:
From this:
Well, it was actually a pile of boards that the husband and I nailed together, but neat, right? I had a ton of inspiration from Pinterest to help me figure out what I wanted to do…
Super cute, right?
I made my version as a wedding/Christmas gift for my BFF and her new husband. I knew I wanted a quote that represented them and I wanted it to match their room. Little did I know how intense the project would be! Once I got into it, I totally spaced taking pictures, but I’ll let you know what steps I took and what products I used.
- Nail the boards together making sure to brace both sides on the back. You don’t want your hard work to fall apart later!
- Paint a light layer of paint on the wood. I used a gray acrylic paint that I picked up from Michael’s for $0.50. Nice and cheap.
- Using Martha Stewart Crafts Tintable Antique Effect and Martha Stewart Crafts Satin Acrylic Paint in Wedding Cake, create a healthy dose of the mixture and cover the boards liberally. Let dry.
- Apply vinyl or paint your quote onto the boards.
- Apply a good thick coating of Matte Mod Podge over the entire front of the project. This will seal everything down.
- Apply two generous coats of Martha Stewart Crafts Satin Finish.
Project complete! These directions make it seems fairly simple, when all reality, it took me two days to complete it when I factored in drying times in between coats of paint and sealer. The BFF teared up when she received it, so I hope that means she likes it. What do you think? Is it a keeper?
If you liked this project, you might also enjoy some other pallet art pieces I’ve put together:
Linking Here:
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Katie, that is beautiful! I love it!
Thanks so much Whitney! It was a labor of love but totally worth it in the end. 🙂
Can you email me and tell me what you used for the letters and where to get that? 🙂
Hi Rebekah!
I tried emailing you, but I keep getting a delivery failure notice. Oops! I cut the letters from white vinyl with my Silhouette SD. I ordered the SD from Overstock.com a few months ago and I order all of my vinyl from Expressions Vinyl.
I hope this helps!
Hi Katie! I am in LOVE with this project. You are one talented girl. I would like to do a similar project, correction I would like to do THIS project. I have been searching and searching for inspiration for our master retreat renovation and this was one of the first things I came across after weeks of searching. Would you be willing to make another vinyl lettering to sell?? I have looked at other sites that sell this quote but I like the font and exaggerations you use. Please let me know if I can buy it from you!!
that’s really pretty. i love the idea of using pallets or wood like this.
i agree with you about handmade christmas. i did all handmade gifts for family i started in nov and thought i’d have enough time i was in crunch mode and mailed them the week before christmas not sure if they’d get there in time, but they did.
this year i’m starting in sept! 🙂
Love this! I added it to pinterest. Gorgeous and what a great saying.
love all of these! so glad i stopped in to say hello! xoxo, tracie
So Gorgeous!! Love the white on the distressed pallet and what a fabulous quote!!
Saw this on Pinterest and was like THAT’S GORGEOUS! Came to the post and wham I see my pallet sign 🙂 Awww you’re so sweet.
I love love it! I’m really curious how you went about painting the letters for the quote on it!
Pamela @ pbjstories.com
Hi Pamela! I loved LOVED the sign that you made; it was awesome inspiration for mine! I actually used my Silhouette to cut vinyl letters and then applied those. No paint for the letters required!
I love this. It is awesome.
I have done the same thing with Christmas presents. I definitely need to start on them this summer.
Ruth
Love it! I’ve been all over pinterest looking for sayings to do a sign like this for our bedroom! Its sweet, thanks for sharing!
Just absolutely adore your sign. Tell me, how do you hang this , or not?
I nailed a short board on the top center of the backside so that it could rest on nails if it needed to be hung. There are also picture hanging kits with nails and cord that you could easily put on the back. I hope this helps!
I loved your sign so much that I pinned it! 🙂 Too sweet!
Happy New Year!
~Liz
P.S. I’m following you now… hope you will come by and say hi.
This is wonderful! A “keeper” for sure! 😉 Great job!
-Michelle
Thank you so much for the inspiration! I am visiting from TT&J. I love pallet wood and I love signs…..so it’s the perfect combination.
love the sign you made and the weathered timber colour!
the others are cute too.
new follower..cheryl x
This is so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Wow I love this!!! I’m not as crafty, I like to cook and bake more but this is definitely something I could get my husband to make 😉 Thanks for sharing!!!
WOW!! Found your blog via Flamingo Toes.
THANK YOU so much for sharing!! Now I am on the hunt for some pallets!
Love your pallet art! (Your inspiration pieces are cute, too.) I may have to go looking for some pallets so I can do something like this! Thanks!
I love this! Love the quote too. I want to try this:) Thanks for sharing!!
I LOVE your signs! This is motivating me to get going on my pile of pallet pieces. You have a great eye!
These are such a great idea!
I’m a new follower here.
Thanks!
Hi!! did you do the writing in vinly? and did you stain the wood?
Hi Miranda! THe writing is in vinyl. I used my Silhouette SD to cut it. I actually painted the wood in a multi-step process that’s at the end of the post. I hope this helps!
So pretty and heart-warming!
That’s great! I made a sign using this quote a couple months ago and was pleased with how it turned out, but yours is gorgeous! Such a statement piece!
Hi Katie, This is adorable! I’m happy to have found your blog and excited to be following along! You have some really great ideas… thanks for sharing. I hope you might come visit me too… burlapandbuttons.blogspot.com Hope you have a great week!
Such a wonderful project and sweet saying. I’m totally in love with the pallet trend!
Oh Katie – Your Pallet board is beautiful!! I love it so very very much! I am pinning it!
Beautiful!! Can I ask… what are the names of the fonts you used?
Oh man! I know that I used Feel Script for the swirly letters, but I’m such a font addict that I can’t remember what the other font was! Some of my favorite fonts that will work are Fairfax Station and Duality, both found at DaFont.com. I hope this helps!
so cute.could you tell me what fonts you used in this.love it!
This turned out amazing! I also wanted to make handmade Christmas gifts for everyone, but totally ran out of time. I did get around to doing a few though.
I’ve been dying to make my own pallet art. Hoping to get to do it with a work project soon. I love how you gave it a white washed effect. Keeping that in mind if/when I ever get around to doing one myself!
Great job!
This is just amazing..I want to do something like this and you’ve inspired me to go for it. I’m going to share on fb and pinterest…Thank you
These are so adorable! We would love to have you come share this at our weekly link pary every Saturday! -The Sisters
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com
This is so lovely – you did a really amazing job! It is beyond gorgeous…what a thoughtful gift! I would have kept it!
Thanks Holly! I was seriously tempted to keep it; instead, I’m going to make my own version!
Stunning! Would love to know which Silhouette you purchased? You have such a talent!
Thank you so much Valerie! I purchased the Silhouette SD before I even knew the CAMEO was coming. I still love it though and use it all the time now!
This is soooo gorgeous Katie!! I love it – the phrase is perfect and I love the weathered look of the wood!
I featured you today! http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/01/crush-of-the-week-think-pink-features-35/
Booyah! Most looked at link from our linky party last week. GORGEOUS, m’dear!! XOXO
Wahoo! Thanks ladies!
Fabulous in every way Katie! and such a beautiful saying too!
I am in love! What are the approx lengths? I think I’m going to Home Depot asap to get wood and make one! I can’t wait 🙂
The boards were about 32 inches long. I’d love to see how yours turns out!
Love it so much i had to make one too:) Thanks for the creativity!!!
If that isn’t so special I don’t know what is!! I Love the Quote!!
Nancy
Just wondering if you can buy these? They look great!
I don’t sell them at this time Katarina. So sorry!
I made this for our 33rd Wedding Anniversary and it turned out AWESOME! I cut the words out of adhesive vinyl using my Cricut. They went onto the board like a dream! Thank you so much for a wonderful idea! My husband was quite surprised!
This is gorgeous! I absolutely love it! I am going to try to make one myself. Do you mind telling me how big the wood pieces are & how big you made the lettering with your Silhouette SD? Thanks a bunch!
Hi Tarah! This was such a last minute project, so I didn’t take measurements at the time and since it was given as a gift, I don’t have access to take measurements now. So sorry!
It’s ok! I’ll figure it out! Thanks for the reply!
This is so lovely! Can I ask what fonts you used on your silhouette? I would love to make one of these for my room and for my brother upcoming wedding! =)
Thank you Brycie! I don’t have the project saved on my computer, but I *think* that I used Respective for the swirly font and Hightower Text for the regular words. Like I said, I’m not positive those are the ones, but I *do* think those would look great together. I hope this helps!
Thanks so much Katie! This pallet is just beautiful!
Love this! I’m trying to create my own, can you tell me what size font you used (i.e. 2″, 3″…) thanks!!
Hi Chrissy! I wish I could tell you, but it was such a last-minute project that I didn’t remember to save the measurements. I’m kicking myself now!
Hi Katie! I came across your blog (through Pinterest, no less) and I am in LOVE with this project! It looks gorgeous and I’m bound & determined to make one to go above our bed. I know that everyone is itching to know more about the vinyl lettering…me included! I’m not sure that I’d use the Silhouette/something comparable enough to be worth the expense. If you find a minute to make another (or similar) set of lettering, I will GLADLY buy it from you!
Can I buy this?!
Hi, I LOVE your stuff. is there any way about ordering a couple off you? Amazing creativity.
You can find the pallets for purchase on my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetRoseStudio 🙂
You don’t ship to the uk?! So sad 🙁 anyway of arranging it? Or am I being cheeky? Haha
I wish Sophie! It just isn’t cost effective. 🙁
I LOVE the white washed one that says every love story is beautiful. SO SO SO adorable! Especially above my master bed 🙂 Your work is beautiful!