DIY Pallet Pumpkin Project!
My father-in-law came to visit this week and I got a little inspiration after taking a long walk around my neighborhood. While walking past a neighbor's house, I noticed a really cute and simple wooden pumpkin made from what looked like thin wooden planks.
I immediately thought it would be something I could make myself using an old pallet from the garage. One thing you MUST know about my personality is that I don't waste time on ideas unless I plan to follow through with a plan. The plans don't always pan out the way I'd like them to, but I always do try.
I got home, pulled out an old sheet, my paint tub, the sandpaper, a hammer, and the men & put them to work. Because pallets are made from cheap wood, they often have a TON of unnecessary nails jammed together to hold the planks in place. They are not easily disassembled. In fact, it took some muscle and a few split pieces to get it all taken apart.
Some nails were broken inside the wood, so I didn't worry about trying to remove those ones.
One thing I must tell you is that when I started the project, I had no intent on posting my project online. It wasn't until I had already taken apart the pallet, removed the wood and cut out my outline, that I thought about taking pictures. The pieces of wood above are the rejected pieces AFTER the pallet was already stripped down. I apologize ahead of time for not taking more pictures of the transformation.
Next, I laid out each piece flat on the ground and decided what pieces I could work with. After placing them side-by-side, I took a drawing pencil and sketched out where I wanted each piece cut. I left the cutting to my husband and father-in-law. It only took them a couple of minutes to cut the pieces. They were not all perfectly even, but I wanted the pumpkin to have character, so the imperfections could stay.
By the time the pumpkin was cut out, we were about an hour into the project. However, don't get excited yet, sanding it down and painting the pieces took up the majority of the rest of the day.
We all (including my son and daughter) took pieces to sand down and smooth out before we began painting. I used a drywall sandpaper block and then cleaned each piece off with a wet rag to remove any dust and/or dirt. We placed them outside to dry off for about 10 minutes before prepping them to be painted.
I passed out a board to each person and we all lathered each piece with a solid color. I used regular acrylic paint, but it took three coats of the orange to get a bright finish on it. We let the boards dry and then I painted a design on each of the board. I didn't really have a plan and I did not want perfect, clean lines for the patterns. I wanted it to look playful and imperfect. Quite the opposite of most of the art I do each day. It was actually fun to get a little messy with real paint. I spend so much time drawing digitally, that I often forget how fun it is to feel the paint with live materials.. haha
After each piece was painted, I then coated each one with a clear coat to protect the paint from rain or harsh weather. The clear coat also gave the pumpkin a nice glossy finish.
We nailed it together and had a cute pumpkin to place by our front patio!!
You could even get a little more creative with the design and cut the back post in a point at the bottom, so you could stick it in your yard. I think it turned out bright and happy!! You could even use these to decorate your classrooms for Fall!!
I hope you are all having a very nice Sunday afternoon & I would love to see your DIY Fall decor!! I am always looking for more inspiration!
I also wanted to let you all know that I did finish a FUN Wizard Clipart Set to go along with my Little Witches... Use the links below to check them out. I will keep them discounted until midnight tonight.
Thank you for your support and your amazing feedback!! I will be back tomorrow to reveal a few finished custom blog designs!!
CLICK HERE TO GET THIS SET FROM MY WEBSITE SHOP
CLICK HERE TO GET THIS SET FROM MY TPT SHOP
I immediately thought it would be something I could make myself using an old pallet from the garage. One thing you MUST know about my personality is that I don't waste time on ideas unless I plan to follow through with a plan. The plans don't always pan out the way I'd like them to, but I always do try.
I got home, pulled out an old sheet, my paint tub, the sandpaper, a hammer, and the men & put them to work. Because pallets are made from cheap wood, they often have a TON of unnecessary nails jammed together to hold the planks in place. They are not easily disassembled. In fact, it took some muscle and a few split pieces to get it all taken apart.
One thing I must tell you is that when I started the project, I had no intent on posting my project online. It wasn't until I had already taken apart the pallet, removed the wood and cut out my outline, that I thought about taking pictures. The pieces of wood above are the rejected pieces AFTER the pallet was already stripped down. I apologize ahead of time for not taking more pictures of the transformation.
Next, I laid out each piece flat on the ground and decided what pieces I could work with. After placing them side-by-side, I took a drawing pencil and sketched out where I wanted each piece cut. I left the cutting to my husband and father-in-law. It only took them a couple of minutes to cut the pieces. They were not all perfectly even, but I wanted the pumpkin to have character, so the imperfections could stay.
We all (including my son and daughter) took pieces to sand down and smooth out before we began painting. I used a drywall sandpaper block and then cleaned each piece off with a wet rag to remove any dust and/or dirt. We placed them outside to dry off for about 10 minutes before prepping them to be painted.
I passed out a board to each person and we all lathered each piece with a solid color. I used regular acrylic paint, but it took three coats of the orange to get a bright finish on it. We let the boards dry and then I painted a design on each of the board. I didn't really have a plan and I did not want perfect, clean lines for the patterns. I wanted it to look playful and imperfect. Quite the opposite of most of the art I do each day. It was actually fun to get a little messy with real paint. I spend so much time drawing digitally, that I often forget how fun it is to feel the paint with live materials.. haha
After each piece was painted, I then coated each one with a clear coat to protect the paint from rain or harsh weather. The clear coat also gave the pumpkin a nice glossy finish.
We nailed it together and had a cute pumpkin to place by our front patio!!
I hope you are all having a very nice Sunday afternoon & I would love to see your DIY Fall decor!! I am always looking for more inspiration!
I also wanted to let you all know that I did finish a FUN Wizard Clipart Set to go along with my Little Witches... Use the links below to check them out. I will keep them discounted until midnight tonight.
Thank you for your support and your amazing feedback!! I will be back tomorrow to reveal a few finished custom blog designs!!
CLICK HERE TO GET THIS SET FROM MY WEBSITE SHOP
CLICK HERE TO GET THIS SET FROM MY TPT SHOP
Repurposing-love! Smiles and stop by anytime!
ReplyDeleteYour PUMPKIN PALLET is absolute adorable! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I would LOVE to recreate this with my family. Where did you find the pallet?
ReplyDeleteBest wishes!
Jen :)
TeacherKarma.com
Thank you so much!!
DeleteMy husband and I own a heating and air conditioning company out here in Arizona. We are Trane Comfort Specialists and when we pick up equipment, our Trane distributor has piles of pallets in the back. They said I could take as many as I wanted whenever I wanted... haha... You might want to see if there is a Trane distributor in your area and ask them if you could have a pallet or two. I am sure they would be more than willing to pass a few your way...
Michelle