Hi there and Happy Flag Day! I’m excited to share a handmade project by ambassador Kimi Coopet of Oh Hello Photo with you all today.
She says, “Since basically forever I have wanted to make a flag pallet but never got around to it but with Flag Day, the 4th of July and Labor Day right around the corner I figured this was the perfect time to whip out this really easy project.”
MATERIALS
* Wooden Pallet
* Red, White & Blue outdoor paint or spray paint
* Paint brush
* Sand paper and/or palm sander
* Painters Tape
* X-Acto knife
* Ruler
* Thick piece of construction paper, cardboard or card stock
* 5 inch by 5 inch star (printable version included in the post)
* Polyurethane
I got our pallet from Lowes. I tried a few other big box home improvement stores and they all said they send theirs away and wouldn’t allow me to have one or even pay for it! Lowes was really great about it, so thanks Lowes! All the rest of the supplies I had in my garage. I have just about every color of spray paint so that’s why I chose to use it for this project. If you aren’t crazy like me & have all the supplies you can just buy what you need when you pick up your pallet.
There is a little prep work that you should do to your pallet before you paint. If you have broken pieces of wood falling off make sure you remove them. You can sand them down if they are smaller and hard to remove. If you pallet is like mine and sat around for a while it will have a lot of dust & dirt on it so make sure you remove that. I just used my paint brush to get it all off.
Prop your pallet up against something in a well ventilated area. Outside is the best. A mild temperature day with calm winds is ideal. You don’t want to end up with bugs or small leaves on your flag. This is the paint I used. Like I mentioned it was just paint I had laying around. I try to use as much recycled stuff as I can.
Now is the fun part, painting! First I started with the red. I painted half way on the top two boards leaving room for the blue. I did the same with the alternating boards with red.
I let the pallet dry for a little while before I started the blue. I taped off the top 3 boards in the middle and put a row of tape on the top of the 4th board so I didn’t get blue all over the board. If you are using actual paint and not spray paint you won’t need that row of tape unless you tend to spill a lot. Then I spray the area blue & removed the tape right after.
Then I let it dry and went inside to make a start stencil. If you are awesome at drawing stars you can just use a paint brush and some white paint to draw them on after it dries. If you are like me & can’t, you can easily create a stencil. This is the star I used.
I printed this star out, cut it out, traced it on a thick piece of construction paper and used an X-Acto knife & ruler to cut it out. SUPER EASY! Make sure you aren’t just using a thin piece of paper (like printer paper) because it will make it difficult to spray paint after a few stars. You can also use something cereal box or any kind of box you have laying around. You just need something sturdy,
Then spray paint 4 stars on each row of blue. You don’t need to measure out exactly. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Just wing it. I love the homemade look and it fits so well with the imperfect pallet.
Allow it to dry for 24 hours and then finish with a coat of Polyurethane so it’s weather proof. Be sure to follow the drying instructions on your Polyurethane and then put out to display.
Kimi Coopet is a coffee addict & photographer out of St. Paul, Minnesota. Her company Oh Hello! Photo specializes in family and child photography. Outside of her passion for photography, she is a wife and mother to three kids. She loves to craft but isn’t sure she is nailing or failing her Pinterest finds. If she isn’t taking photos or crafting she is indulging in her love of junk food and watching comedies, all while snuggling one of her three dogs.
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