Materials list:
- three 6″wide boards
- Dollarama felt leaf 44 cm X 43 cm
- thin wood strips for braces (even paint sticks would probably work)
- wood glue
- nail gun or hammer/nails
- band saw or jigsaw
- orbital or mouse sander OR sandpaper
While browsing in Dollarama in early August, I came across this fairly large felt Maple Leaf. I immediately thought to myself,
“This would make a great pallet project!”
The price was just right too at just $1.25 Cdn. The leaf measured 43 cm across at it’s widest point and 44 cm from top to bottom.
When I got home, I lined up three wider pallet boards and it fit almost perfectly; pallet boards are never a exact width. I had to trim away one part of the leaf to make it fit on the boards. I found a darker board which really contrasted with the normal yellowy pine look of most of our pallet boards.
Using my orbital sander, I sanded the two pieces of wood. I cut the darker pallet board in two lengthwise with the bandsaw using the top piece on the left, the lighter pallet board in the middle and the bottom half on the right.
The next step was to trace the leaf and cut outs of the leaf onto the boards. The felt material is great because it catches on any rough parts of the wood and does not move while tracing.
Using the band saw, I cut out the outer leaf on the three boards. I sanded the outer edge with 80 grit sand paper.
Once I figured out what side I liked better, I then flipped it over. Using wood glue, I glued the three cut out parts of the leaf together. I cut two pieces of 1/4 inch thick plywood strips and glued them onto the back of the leaf spaced apart. These would be the back braces.
I grabbed the nail gun and nailed the braces to the back. At this point, it is always good to turn your project over and wipe away any glue that may have seeped between the leaf parts and onto the front.
After the glue dried, I sanded off any rough parts and glue spots. I heated up my wood burner and burned all the stencil cut out areas.
I plan to use the felt leaf again to trace onto a pallet sign and add some fall script to it.