Beautiful Things - Sept/Oct 2017

Pallet Wall Hanging

Create a rustic wood wall hanging in the shape of your state - or anything else you can imagine - with Holly's technique for recycling throw-away pallets.  
- by Holly Lemoine Raymond

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Hey all! Thanks for stopping to read Beautiful Things. I enjoy sharing projects with you and I hope you enjoy them too! 

I was at a dinner party recently and a piece of wall art caught my eye. It was made out of pallet boards and was in the shape of the state of Louisiana. (I enjoy repurposing pallet boards because they have a lot of character and are super durable.) I was inspired to make a wall hanger of my own of Mississippi. It was a fun project that I hope you’ll enjoy. 

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​What you’ll need:

Pallet Boards
Stain
Nails
Plywood
Jig Saw
Reciprocating Saw (Sawzsall)
Nails
Nail gun (if you have one)
Wood glue
Pencil
Big sheet of poster board
Map of MS (Stencil)
Projector

I think we are ready to go!

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Step 1:
​Disassemble your pallet. Don’t worry too much if some of the pieces break in the process. Use the broken pieces for the areas you will be cutting out. 

Step 2:
Lay the Plywood down. Arrange the boards how you’d like them to be set and glue them to the plywood using the wood glue.  I like to stagger my boards to give it more of a worn, scrappy look. Once you have finished gluing the pallet boards to the plywood, wipe the excess dust and dirt off of your boards.

Step 3:
Now that your boards are laid out how you’d like and secured to the plywood, you can grab your pencil and map of MS (or state of choice). I went here.  

I downloaded this map and inserted it in to a PowerPoint so I could project the map for tracing. Tape the poster board on to the wall where you will be projecting your image and trace your map on to the poster board or butcher paper. (I used poster board because it is more sturdy than butcher paper.)

Step 4:
Cut out your image of MS or the state of your choice and use it as a stencil to trace it on to your pre-arranged pallet boards. 

(I should note that I was alone while I was working on this project and did not take pictures every step of the way. I was in the zone just working through my project.) 

Step 5:
With your jigsaw, cut your state out of the wood. 

Step 6:
Wipe the excess dust off once again and begin to stain your project. I used Java Gel Stain. I like the rich look it gives the pallet boards. The dark stain brings those boards back to life. You can pick up a ½ Pint of this stain from your local Walmart for about $10. 

I used this particular stain because it is easy to use and gives your project that “hand-rubbed” appearance without all of the hard work. (Work smarter not harder!)

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Your Pallet State Wall Hanger is ready for display!

Thanks again for reading our Beautiful Things column. I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did. See you next time!