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5 Tips for Making a Pallet Sign You’ll Love

August 13, 2017

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This post is sponsored by Free Spirit Market.   All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Move over paint nite, pallet sign making workshops are where its at.  I recently attended Free Spirit Market’s pallet sign making workshop and it was a blast.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Pick a Stencil that Speaks to You

The scene was set for a night of creativity with a beautiful white tent and pretty patio lights.  Supplies for each lady were laid out at every chair.  All I had to do was pick out my stencil.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Picking out a stencil was no easy task.  There were easily over 70 designs to chose from.

My advice?  Get there early for best selection.  You can even combine elements from a couple of different stencils to get exactly the look you’re going for.

I was drawn in by the feather stencil.

Side note: if you’re going with a group of people, you’ll want to get there early to make sure you can all sit together.  Flying solo?  Don’t worry, you’ll make some new friends by the time the night is over.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Specialty Drinks and a Delicious Eats

While we waited for everyone to arrive and pick out their stencils, we were treated to a delicious spread of BBQ Beef with buns by the Danish Oven, veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, and even a birthday cake!

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

An old washtub was filled to the brim with specialty beers, wine, and sparkling juice.  I tried the Cawston Press Rhubarb and was very pleased with my choice.  It was a nice combination of sweet and sour.

All the food was delicious, but the stand outs for me were the Better Than Your Boyfriend BBQ sauce and Gourmet Village Maple Apple Jam.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Not every class comes with food and drinks, but if you can get into one that does, it’s worth the extra 10 dollars.  If I’d have known the snacks were going to be so substantial, I wouldn’t have eaten supper.

Pallet signs are the new paint nite. Click To Tweet

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

With our food and drink in hand, we started making our signs.

Sand and Glaze

First we gave all the edges a light sanding.  No splinters here!  Then we painted on a dark glaze and wiped it off with a wet cloth.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

It’s easy to try and over-think this stage.  My advice is to do it and let it be.  The sign is supposed to look rustic!

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Next, we taped our stencils to the boards and chose our colours.  This was probably the hardest part of the whole project.

Thankfully, if you’re having a hard time deciding, your painting neighbours or the staff will have some great ideas.  Both of the ladies I sat beside had been there before and had great ideas.

No talent? No problem. Get creative without the hassle at Free Spirit Market.Click To Tweet

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Choose Your Colours

All of the paint is by furniture and my kitchen cabinets.  It’s really easy to work with, and the clear tough coat actually lives up to it’s name.

Related: Painting Your Kitchen Cabinets with Chalk Paint?  Read this First!

Remember when I said you can customize? The white parts on the sides of the sign are part of one stencil.

Now for the fun part. . . adding the colour!

I got a little carried away for my first feather and used way too much paint.  It looked fine, but the colour bled through the stencil.  If it’s your first time, make sure to wipe off the excess paint and then dab with your sponge.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Add Your Special Touch

The bits that didn’t get filled in can be touched up with a paint brush after you remove your stencil..  It’s much better to sponge lightly and fill in the colour than be too heavy handed and have your colour bleed.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

That’s it!  Seriously, anyone can do this, even if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Let your sign dry for a week, then follow up with Country Chic’s Tough Coat to make sure your sign lasts for a long time.

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

Here’s my sign.  I’m super pleased with the results!

As promised, here’s the five tips to make a pallet sign you’ll love:

Learn all the little tips and tricks to ensure you'll walk away from Free Spirit Market's pallet sign workshop with a sign you'll love.

What are you waiting for?  Grab your girls and head on over to the next Pallet Sign Workshop!

Free Spirit Market is located at 615 Main Street, Humboldt, SK.  To get all the latest class and product updates, follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

Sign up for one of the next two pallet workshops at the Albert Community Centre in Saskatoon, SK on Tuesday, September 26th or Tuesday October 3rd.  More dates and Christmas classes in Humboldt and Saskatoon will be announced soon!

 

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

21 Comments
Filed Under: DIY, Fun, Simple & Easy, Sponsored Tagged: country chic paint, creative, easy, Free Spirit Market, fun, Humboldt, Pallet Sign Workshop, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, simple, things to do

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Aryn Hinton says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:15 am

    Your sign turned out so cute! I'm going to try and find something like this in my community
    Reply
  2. Alyx says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:20 am

    These are great tips! We're supposed to have a party like this soon for my sister's bachelorette party!
    Reply
  3. Mary Ellen says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:47 am

    I wish we had something like this where we lived! So cool!
    Reply
  4. Carolina says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:58 am

    Gals night :) we need more ideas like this for getting people together and creating things! I love your tips for making a pallet sign you love too because I would not have though to paint in the cracks and it's a good reminder not to stress over mistakes. Just roll with it and enjoy the rustic creation with friends!
    Reply
  5. Yvonne says

    August 14, 2017 at 7:34 am

    This was such a fun night and I'm so happy I sat beside you and got to meet you! These are indeed such fun nights and you always go home with a sign you love! Free Spirit Market is like a drug for me..... That store is amazing and the owner, Stacey Stroeder, is such a sweetheart! Loving your blog! Yvonne
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 14, 2017 at 3:45 pm

      Yes to all of this! Glad I got to meet you too!
      Reply
  6. Lynn Woods says

    August 14, 2017 at 8:22 am

    Thanks for the tips and this looks so much fun!
    Reply
  7. Jen says

    August 14, 2017 at 8:36 am

    This is a fun night out! I've been wanted to make this at home so your tips are wonderful!!
    Reply
  8. Dorian says

    August 14, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Love your post - love your sign!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 14, 2017 at 3:45 pm

      Aww, thanks so much!
      Reply
  9. Pamela Hernandez says

    August 14, 2017 at 11:01 am

    That looks like so much fun! I wish someone did that in my hometown
    Reply
  10. Claire - StartACraftBlog says

    August 14, 2017 at 11:52 am

    This looks like so much fun!!! I haven't tried creating signs but I really want to create a long one for my laundry one.
    Reply
  11. Cathy McIntosh says

    August 14, 2017 at 12:31 pm

    oh my gosh, this looks like SO much fun! The stencils are beautiful and I have to admit, combining different stencils wouldn't have occurred to me right off the bat. I can't wait to make a pallet sign (or 15)! :) Thanks for the encouragement to give it a try!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      August 14, 2017 at 3:44 pm

      It's kind of addicting. I'm already planning my next one!
      Reply
  12. Danielle @ A Sprinkle of Joy says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    I want to do something like this so badly!!
    Reply
  13. Mikki says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:47 pm

    How fun is this! Love this idea! Love the snacks too ;-). Looks like a great girls night out activity.
    Reply
  14. Amanda at The Light Owl says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:50 pm

    These are so pretty!! I didn't know they had events like this!
    Reply
  15. Lexi says

    August 14, 2017 at 7:45 pm

    Oh wow! I love those. I've never tried pallet art but I think you just made me feel brave enough to try. I think it's a perfect project for me and my oldest daughter!
    Reply
  16. Joanne says

    August 14, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    Well now I want to go! You did a great job and have inspired me!
    Reply
  17. Erin says

    August 14, 2017 at 9:34 pm

    So excited to try one of these! Thank you for sharing these great tips!
    Reply
  18. Juli says

    August 15, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Neat! I've been wanting to make one of these for quite a while... I wonder if there's a paint night style workshop around me anywhere. Great photos of your event, too!
    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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