For this project you will need:

1 wooden pallet

A hammer & nails (or) Drill & screws

Power Sander/ sand paper

Table Saw

White acrylic paint

Paint brush

Old sponge

Scissors

Picture frame hanging hooks

Wood glue

This project takes about 1-2 hours to complete.

I love all the rustic looking home décor trends lately. Since I'm a military wife the American flag is part of my home décor more than just Independence day so I chose to turn this pallet into a rustic wooden flag sign. I'll be honest when I started this project I thought it would be finished in no time but that wasn't the case (I ran into some difficulties along the way). I originally wanted to disassemble the pallet and use the full length of the wood to make a very large sign. No one warned me how difficult it is to take a pallet apart so I decided to cut the wood in between the nails and then line them up to make a smaller sign. Below you can see how I cut the wooden pallet using a table saw.

After I had the wood cut out from the pallet I lined up the boards and used a pencil to mark any excess and then cut that off with the table saw. I prefer my sign to have a more rustic look so I was fine with my boards not being the exact same length and being staggered slightly.

After I had the boards aligned it was time to add boards to the back to hold them all together. (This is where I ran into trouble) During this process my battery on my table saw died and being the impatient person that I am I improvised and used scrap wood for the back instead of waiting for the battery to charge and cutting new pieces. If you are making this for a gift I would recommend cutting uniform pieces so it has a nicer look, but since I was making this sign for myself and no one will see the back anyway I wasn't too concerned about it.

I originally planned to use wood screws but they ended up being too long and I went with 1" nails instead. I used wood glue under each board for extra support and then hammered nails along the back boards to connect each front board. When all of the back boards were attached I then hammered in 3 picture frame hooks so I would be able to hang the sign easily.

After the sign was assembled I used a power sander to sand everything smooth. Next I used a paint brush and fast drying white acrylic paint to brush on an uneven coat of paint. I used a dragging technique to give it more of a worn rustic look. For the stars I cut an old dish sponge into a star shape and dipped it into the white acrylic paint.

I'm so happy with how it turned out! :) I hung this sign in our stairway as you walk up the stairs. (Pictured below)