Deer Head Pallet

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I’ve had a pallet in my garage for a couple of years now. This year I finally I decided what I wanted to do with it, I made a deer pallet for my fireplace!! He was so cute during the holidays and was even sporting red nose made from a small plastic ornament!

Before we begin this simple recreation of a pallet, there are some things you should know about them before you start painting and ripping them apart. Most important you need to know where it came from so it is safe for your household.

I found this great site 1001 Pallets, they have a great post on pallet safety and guidelines for you to follow. First you need to look for a code on the side of your pallet, then look it up and see where your pallet came from and what it was used for. Harsh chemicals are something you do not want in your home or on you while you are preparing it.

Once you find your pallet is safe, most people start pulling them apart to use the reclaimed wood for projects. I only pulled the boards off the back of my pallet. Make sure you remove all old rusty nails, they can be hidden so be careful and wear work gloves.

Next I took a stiff brush and scrubbed off any dirt or debris from the pallet. I used a Silhouette Cameo to make the stencil for my pallet. If you do not have a Silhouette Cameo that’s ok, I found a super cool and easy way to make a large stencil. So read on…

Deer Head Pallet

Supplies:

• Silhouette CAMEO
• Vinyl or printer paper
• White acrylic paint
• Spray glue
• Paint brush
• Sponge applicator

Instructions:

Enjoy a Free Printable Deer for your projects!

Right Click and Save to Use

I took the deer graphic and uploaded it to my Silhouette Studio. Modified it and made it traceable and able to cut out by my machine. To make a large stencil on Silhouette Cameo. I split the image into three sections to get a large enough size for a pallet.

The Dimensions of my cutting mat for this project is 12 inches in width by 18 inches in height. Print each section out separately and then place the three pieces together to make a large stencil.

I took the inner part of the graphic and placed it on the pallet to get the correct placement.

**If you do not have a Silhouette Cameo. You can always print out the graphic. There is an easy way to do this by using Blockposters.com. You upload the graphic and select the size, {you may need to play around with the dimensions to get the right size}, then print the sections out and arrange the pics together so they are a perfect deer shape. Tape them together so they are secure.

Lay the printout over the wood and trace over the image with a sharp pencil. If you push down hard enough it should make an indention in the wood and then you can hand paint the stag head. Or if you are afraid of hand painting, you could use an X-acto knife and cut out the black deer image to make a true stencil.

After you cut the deer graphic out with the Silhouette Cameo or printer method, center the stencil on the wood. The vinyl and/or printer paper is not strong enough to hold the stencil in place on wood, so spray an adhesive glue spray to the back of the vinyl to secure it. Press and smooth down the stencil.

Carefully paint the inside of the stencil so the paint does not run beyond the stencil. Remove the stencil. Touch up where needed, let it dry and that’s it! This took no time at all and we had it up on the fireplace within a few minutes. I love him so much, I’m thinking of leaving it up all year!

~ This post contains affiliate links, I will be compensated if you make a purchase. Hey, this girl needs to buy craft supplies

Check out more of my Silhouette Cameo Projects~

Rustic Rail Road Sign

Follow Made in a Day’s board Silhouette Cameo Tips on Pinterest.

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