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How to Create Your Own Pallet Board American Flag

Updated: Jul 18, 2022

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!

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