You know you want one!! After reading this, you will be able to make your own! Even better - no major skills required. Now this is my kind of DIY project.....EASY!!
Ok...step 1 - Find a palette! I went to Lowe's and they just gave me one for free. I used a small palette for this project, but have used the large ones too. It doesn't matter what size you start with. The bigger the palette is, the more bold your piece will become. I love bold pieces! I have a huge wall piece hanging in my kitchen that I made from a very large palette. And I love it!! See...
Ok so once you have your palette, you are ready for step 2. Take that thing apart!! Easy! You will need a hammer and a pry bar for this step. We are taking the top boards off of the palette. You don't want to damage the boards too bad because the boards you remove will be the front of your wall piece. Wedge your pry bar in between the wood using a hammer and start taking those things off!
After you've removed the pieces of wood you are ready for step 3. Yay!! This step starts getting fun :) We are ready for paint!! Oh how I love thee! I have so much paint it's probably an addiction!! But it's so good and I won't stop hehe. If you don't have paint on hand....run and get some. Lowe's always has sample size paint from Valspar. But if your lucky (like I choose to be EVERYTIME I go to Lowe's) you'll find discounted paint like this:
Now we are going to paint the wood. Remember, we are going for a distressed look. People ask me all the time how you do this. Piece of Cake! I will show you the easiest and fastest way to do this. You won't even need a sander!! First, line up your wood so you can get a general idea of placement.
As you can see, the wood has some punctures, cracks, etc. This is fine...actually I prefer it. It's only going to add to the aged look. Get a paintbrush and your paint - Let's do this!! When you dip your brush, before you start painting, wipe excess paint off your brush. You can use a paper towel to do this, but I just scrape my brush on the paint container several times to remove most of the paint. The reason you do this is because you want to streak the paint on, not cover it.
The reason you're leaving so much wood free of paint is for the stain to really go to town in the paint free areas. Doing it like this allows you to avoid the whole sander step. It just makes it easier and faster, which I likey. Don't forget to paint the sides of the wood as well, since some will be exposed.
After the paint is dry, we are ready for stain, which is step 4. When I'm distressing a bold piece, I use a bold stain. This is when I turn to.... Dark Walnut baby! Grab a rag and start staining! Since this particular stain is very dark, you want to use a very small amount. If you use too much you're piece won't look aged, it will just look black. So barely dab some on your rag and start at the edges and outside of the wood pieces. You will be applying the stain to the exposed wood that is paint free. You want to leave a bit of the white in the middle of each piece free of stain. If you have too much stain in certain areas, just get a clean rag and wipe it away. You really can't mess this part up. It will turn out great!!
Let this dry for a bit and then you're ready for assembly! Step 5? I dunno I lost track. Let's ditch the steps. Ok, there are many ways to attach all the pieces of wood together. I'll show you the method I used. I grabbed some scrap pieces of wood left over from the palette and cut them down to size. I cut two skinny pieces to attach to the back of my art. Flip your art over and use some wood glue to better ensure sturdiness.
Next, your going to nail your two strips of wood to the back. You can do this when the glue is still wet. When I was ready to nail...I got my hubby because his nail gun is crazy and a little unpredictable. I figured my husband was inside the house doing something productive, but NOOO.
I found my husband doing this...
So, I made him do this...
haha...I love him!!
You should now have this little number:
This is a look at the back. Now grab a coffee, pick a quote and stencil away on the front!! When everything is dry, spray some sealer on that bad boy. You should now have your fab one of a kind wall piece!!
TaDa!!!!!!!!! I'm in love!
