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Two Pallet Art Projects

BUILD· CRAFTS

Who is ready for some pallet projects?!

(jumps out of seat and runs toward Bob Barker while clapping enthusiastically)

Sorry….sometimes I pretend things are game-show-style….it gets me through the diaper changes and the endless loads of laundry.  You should try it.  Next time a kid is crying and your anxiety is going through the roof, just say “Oh Steve Harvey, you are so funny!  I am gonna go with private parts.”  Because let’s face the facts, the answer on Family Feud is “private parts”….every.  single.  time.  Those 100 perverts people interviewed are obsessed.

Anyhoo….today we are back on track to show you a couple pallet projects for the boy’s bedroom and then we got a final reveal next week!   Hoorah!  Hooray!

First pallet project….taking this oldie trash pallet and making it into a giant wall arrow….

A couple of you may know that the name Weston actually means “one from the west” and since his name is directional….I always think of arrows as his thing.  More specifically arrows that point to the left.  It reminds me of my little Munchkin.  He had arrows in his nursery but I really wanted a bigger arrow for over his big boy bed.  So the first thing we did to make one was have Jeremy take apart that piece of trash shown above with his sawzall.

Four of the pieces is all I needed.  I grabbed two skinny ones and two fat ones.

The skinny ones get cut to the same length and then one end is cut at a 45 degree angle.  The fat one is perfect for making the details.  I cut a triangle and then a ten inch long parallelogram.

I used a Kreg R3 to attach the pieces together.

Also…the boys built a boat out of the scrap wood in our garage.  I don’t know if that would get them to Florida like they intended but I’ve seen worse construction on Naked & Afraid 🙂

After it was all attached, I had my ‘deconstructed’ arrow.  It actually is two parts and together it makes the giant arrow.

We sanded the entire thing down and then stained it with Rust-Oleum’s Weathered Gray.  After that it got a couple coats of poly.

The final result was really cute, right!?  And see how it points to the left?  I know that left doesn’t always imply west but I can make believe it does.  It doesn’t take much to convince my simple mind 🙂

Moving right along to pallet project number two.

We got this bad boy and thought it was a cute little pallet because the boards were closer together and it was relatively small as far as pallets go.

I sanded the entire thing down and decided that I would make something for over Will’s bed (arrow over Westons, this over Will’s!).  I asked him what he thought I should make and he decided that he wanted a tiger.

I found a black and white picture illustration online and I just sketched out the face with pencil and filled it in with black paint.  It wasn’t anything perfect but monochromatic pictures are easier to use for this kind of project than dealing with shading and color matching.

Jeremy hung it by attaching it directly to the wall studs.  Will loves it.  He thinks tigers are his animal and I love that this one isn’t too intense or scary for him….just serious and thoughtful….just like my little first born 🙂

Tomorrow I plan on posting my pictures from fourth of July and then Monday we can do the boy’s room reveal (to be completely honest…it still has a few things I want to tweak but I can’t wait to show you the big picture!).  Hope you stay tuned and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

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  1. That tiger is AMAZEBALLS! Wow… I don’t think I could make it look that good, even with tracing haha! Excited to see the boys’ room reveal.

    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  2. BRAVO on the tiger!

    Thanks for the tutorial on the arrow- I saw one on Pinterest and had been waiting to pull the trigger because nothing is ever as easy as it seems on Pinterest. :/

    Loving the room makeover so far and can’t wait to see the final reveal

  4. This tiger is juste incredible … I will start looking for some pallets !!

    Hang on Sweet Katie, you’re doing so great !!!

  7. Amazing Tiger! You are so talented ( is this the translation for “so begabt” ?) and creative! I’m so exited to see the boy’s room reveal! Thank you Katie for sharing and blogging! Greetings from the Black Forest (we have a lot wood!!!) in Southern Germany!

  9. That tiger is awesome!!!! I wish I had your drawing skills — I think my boys and yours are secretly twins or something….my 5 year old LOVES tigers too….is completely obsessed with them….he got this little tiger as a prize somewhere and brings it with him E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E!! He would seriously die if I could make that for him!!!

  11. I lol’d at your ‘Price is Right’ reference – funny!
    That project came out awesome!!

  12. That tiger is AMAZING! we are currently working on a pallet art project as well for our little one! The dude is sketching mountains to shade in with a little lake. I will have to show him yours to convince him I am NOT crazy and that it will look great.

  14. I just wanted to second Theresa’s “AMAZEBALLS.” That tiger is BOMB. I don’t think I can even draw a straight line. Even if I had a ruler.

    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  15. I agree! She says “I just sketched with a pencil…” Like its no big deal. It’s awesome!

  16. That tiger is incredible! You have some serious talent, miss.

    Also, I forgot for a second how you painted the room and thought the white above the blue was the ceiling. So I thought you just hung the arrow crazy high – until I saw the tiger and realized it wasn’t magically adhered to both the ceiling and the wall at the same time. Doh.

  17. Wow!! I love that arrow, but man that Tiger is amazing!! You have such talent and creativity!

  18. wow that tiger looks amazing – can I hire you to make some pallet art for me?! HOW DO YOU DO ALL THE THINGS WHILE HAVING ALL THE BABIES!? #supermom

  19. LOVE the pallet projects! My husband just build corn hole boards and a cooler out of pallets…I’m all about recycling! 🙂
    PS- Your tiger art is insanely good.

  20. “I found a black and white picture illustration online and I just sketched out the face with pencil and filled it in with black paint.” No big deal LOL! You are so talented – it looks incredible!! 🙂

  21. You had me laughing all the way through–love your humor! And WOW! Serious art skills!

  22. WOW–I can’t believe you drew that tiger! I didn’t know you were an artist!

  28. I’m really impressed by your tiger! Both of the projects are awesome. Where are you getting your pallets? I’m dying to try to make some pallet furniture for the front porch.

  30. I actually did the tiger a long time ago…there is no way I could do that after having a baby 🙂
    xo – kb

  31. The tiger is amazing! And I love that you let Will pick something that he really wanted. I think it’s important that kids feel a sense of ownership over their rooms.

  32. Look for ones that are heat-treated (it should have a stamp on it that says HT) and those are safer than the ones with pesticides. You can get them all sorts of places!
    xo – kb

  35. Both projects are super cool, but that tiger art is a masterpiece! You are one uber talented lady. I enjoy seeing all the instgram pics of the boys. Such joy is seen in the Bower household. Hey, maybe in a few months, it will be time for another Bower project competition between you and Jeremy. Katie for the win!!!

  37. love the arrow but let’s talk about how you just “threw together that tiger!” amazing.

    you’re such a fun mom!!

  38. Uhhhhh…that tiger is OUT. OF. CONTROL. I could not believe you painted that. You are incredibly talented. Wow. Just straight up wow. #paintallthethings

  40. Both projects are awesome…I’ve seen these types of things in stores with high price tags!!

  42. You are so amazing, Katie! Both for continuing to post all the time just after having your fourth baby AND for your amazing talent at sketching that tiger. So clever!

  44. I love these projects. My husband made our coffee table from pallets and swore to never use them again. haha There is definitely a learning curve which you have seemed to master. 🙂

  47. Those projects are so great! The tiger looks amazing against that blue and white wall. Love it.

  48. The tiger art is awesome. And the best part, it fits his Chinese Zodiac animal since his birth year is the Year of the Tiger.

  50. Oh ya… no big deal. just free-handing an INSANE tiger on a pallet. AWESOME Katie! The arrow is beautiful too! Love your work and I’m with you on the whole ” from the left” thing! 🙂

  53. Hi Katie! I’m a long time reader and recently just built a pallet arrow for our new babes nursery set to arrive in 6 weeks 🙂 wondering if you have a suggestion on how to mount the two arrow pieces to the wall? Thanks!

  54. You can mount D hooks on the back (that’s probably the easiest) or you can screw it directly into the studs if you are worried about it falling.
    xo – kb

  55. If you aren’t able to just sketch it on and you have a projector “like the outdoor theater kind” just project it on to the piece and trace it that way. The hardest part is dodging you own shadow LOL

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