How to Create Your Own Pallet Board American Flag

It's finally summer and with so many patriotic holidays over the next few months it is the perfect time of year to create a pallet flag for your home to show your love for your country. These flags are not very hard to make, they just take some time and effort. Below I have provided you with the step-by-step process to make your very own pallet flag.

I decided to take a pallet apart and place the boards close together for my flag. I broke up my pallet using my pallet buster tool. If you do not have a pallet buster tool you can opt to use a pry bar and hammer to take apart your pallet (it is just going to take a little longer). You can easily get pallets for free. Check out Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. I found this one on Craigslist.

After taking it apart, my husband said the best way to nail the boards closely together would be to use a nail gun. He told me if I used just a regular hammer and nails the wood might split. He helped me with this part. (Honestly, I don’t think he trusted me using the nail gun). If you don't have a nail gun you can go the old fashioned way and use a hammer and tools. I used two of the pallet boards as a base on the back of my flag.

After we finished nailing the boards together, The first thing I did was take my 50 flag stars stencil and trace the outer edge of the stencil where the blue part of the flag would go.

Next, I had to do some math. I measured the height of the flag and divided it by 13 to figure out how many inches I needed each stripe to be. After figuring this out, I used a ruler and pencil to draw the lines for the flag.

After all the lines and measurements were completed it was now time to tape off the stripes so that when I painted I would have nice crisp lines. I used masking tape. You could also use painter’s tape.

I decided to use chalk paint for this project. I really like how easy it is to paint with this product and how it looks when it dries. I also like how I generally only need to paint one coat when using chalk paint.

I painted the white lines first and let them dry. Then I pulled up the tape. I taped over the white lines when I went to paint the red lines. I let the red lines dry prior to pulling up the tape.

Finally, I taped off the area where the stars would go so I could paint the blue. I used a nautical blue chalk paint.

After letting the blue dry I taped down my 50 stars stencil. You can buy various sizes of the star stencils online. I bought a package of different sizes so that I can make all different sized flags. I used a stencil brush to paint the stars.

After all the paint was dry I sprayed the pallet with a clear enamel spray so that I don’t have to worry about it getting ruined by the elements.

Try making your own pallet flag and share your photos with us!