The Easier Way to Make Pallet Art

I love the rich textured look of DIY pallet art…but working with actual pallets can be a lot of work.  So when it was time to add some rustic charm to my son’s new big boy room, I started by brainstorming ways to get that rustic look I love in the cheapest, easiest way possible.

And I came up with a ridiculously simple and cheap way to get the look of aged pallet wood without having to actually go find and rip apart any old pallets.

It definitely has that authentic look of weathered wood, but I actually bought all the supplies at a craft supply store for less than ten bucks.  All you need is a sheet of 12×12 wood print scrapbook paper, an unfinished wood 12×12 frame, and a Sharpie.

I stained the frame with dark walnut stain – no sanding or preparation required since you want it to look a bit rough anyway.  (My favorite way to apply stain is to just rub it on with an old t-shirt).

For the actual art, I decided to draw some simple arrows.  Any simple design or words would work though – a favorite phrase, a blowing dandelion, a silhouette, whatever strikes you.

I wanted the arrows to look like they also might be stained, so I chose to make them dark brown.  At first I was thinking I would need some sort of staining pen, but then I realized that was silly.  Since you are really just writing on paper instead of actual wood, all you need is a Sharpie marker.  So I drew my arrows using a regular brown Sharpie.

Stick your ‘pallet art’ in your frame and you are done!  You don’t even need glass since real pallet art wouldn’t have glass over it anyway..

Now I just need to make a few more art pieces for my son’s gallery wall and the room will be ready to reveal!  I can’t wait to share how it is coming together!

I originally published this post at Domestically Speaking on 4/8/2015.  The project and all photos are my own work.