West Virginia Wood Pallet Flag DIY

When I had the opportunity to decorate an office in Mountaineer Country in Morgantown, West Virginia, this West Virginia Wood Pallet Flag was one of my favorite wall art pieces. Use my easy-to-follow directions to make your own! This design can easily be adapted to other themes.

Materials:

A wood pallet

2 scrap pieces of furring strip

craft paint

clear spray paint

screws (I used Size 6x1".)

sawtooth hooks for hanging

Flying WV Stencil (I made my own, or it can be purchased online.)

Directions:

First, choose a pallet. Many businesses have pallets available for free. Remember, all pallets are not created equal! They are available in many different sizes, so have a tape measure handy when searching for one. Also, check for rot, etc.

Note: The finished size of my wood flag is 28 3/8" wide and 15 1/4" tall, but you can adjust the directions to the size that you choose.

Next, take the pallet apart. I couldn't do this part without my husband. I have weak hands, and his hands are very strong!

Finally, the pallet is all apart. The long, notched pieces will be saved for another project. Four (4) boards will be used for the flag.

The pallet pieces were too wide, so we measured and drew a line in the center. Charlie then cut the 4 boards in half lengthwise, for a total of 8 boards.

Lay the pieces out on a table. Some pieces may be warped, so rearrange them until you are satisfied with the arrangement. Boards are not attached to each other at this point. This makes painting a lot easier!

Measure and use Painter's Tape to mark the area that will be painted blue. Tape each board individually.

Time to paint!

I wanted the flag to look rustic, so I did not paint the boards solid. 

Pour the white paint onto a foam plate, add a few drops of water, and stir.

Now you will dip a make-up sponge or brush in the paint. "Dab" it on the plate until most of the paint is gone. Now, using short, light strokes, "swipe" it across the board. Paint the alternating stripes. Do not paint inside the taped area.

Dilute the gold paint with a few drops of water. Use the same method above to swipe gold paint on the remaining stripes.

Let the stripes dry thoroughly.  Move the blue tape to the right over the edge of the painted white and gold stripes. Press the tape down firmly, especially along the edge. Use a sponge or brush to paint the blue area on the top 4 stripes. This area needs to be more solid, so it will require several coats of paint. Let dry thoroughly between coats.

When finished, spread the boards apart as you "touchup" paint to get paint between the boards.

Line the boards up, and flip them over.

Cut 2 scrap pieces of wood or furring strip about 1" shorter than the height of the flag. Use 6x1" exterior wood screws to attach the boards to the flag 4 1/2" inches from each outside edge. Two screws will be attached to each board. The screws should be "staggered", not even, to give it more strength.

*Make sure the screws do not go through the pallet boards! Adjust size of screw, if needed.

Turn the flag over to the right side. Touch-up the blue paint, if necessary, to keep the lines straight.

Use stencil adhesive to temporarily adhere the Flying WV stencil to the wood. Since the navy is so dark, I first did a base-coat of white paint. Next, paint several light coats of gold, letting it dry between coats. 

Tip: If the paint "Seeps through" on the edges, use an artist brush to touch-up when paint is dry.

Finally, the West Virginia flag is done! We attached Sawtooth hangers on both of the furring strip boards 2" from the top to hang the flag. 

Caution: This flag is heavy, so make sure it is attached to a stud or anchored well.

Topcoat with 2-3 light coats of clear spray paint in matte or satin finish, letting it dry thoroughly between coats.

Here are all of my West Virginia Wall Art pieces that I created for the Morgantown Office, drying after receiving their topcoats.

Now, get busy crafting!

9 West Virginia crafts drying after top coats!

And here is the WV Flag hanging on the JustTech Morgantown, West Virginia, Office wall!

Go, Mountaineers!