Large Stencilled Pallet Clock Tutorial

I have been itching to make something out of pallet wood for quite a while now – and since I’m redoing the family room I thought this would be the perfect time to get to work!

This huge Stencilled Pallet Clock was so fun and easy to do – and I love how it turned out!

This is BIG. The clock is a 31″ circle – so it’s really huge and fun! It’s stencilled with a Damask design set off-center – so it looks like an old piece of painted barn wood or something.

Isn’t it rustic and cool?

Here’s your Materials List to make your own!

• Pallet pieces – enough to measure the diameter of the circle you’d like. (This one is 31″)
• Two 1 x 4 pieces for braces on the back
• Clock Hardware – mine came from this website
• Paint for Stencil
• Large Stencil (or materials to make one)
• Tools and hardware – Saw, Drill, Screws

So let’s get started!

I ADORE crafting with friends! It makes it all so much more fun. I often craft with Aimee from SmallAnchors.com and this project started out at her house! In fact her sweet husband cut out and assembled the clock for me. Isn’t that awesome?

Here’s what he did:

I layed out the pallet pieces in the order that I wanted them. He screwed two 1 x 4′s into the center of the panel pieces with a screw in each board to hold them all together. After marking the center of the pieces, he drew the large circle onto the boards with chalk. Then he used a jigsaw to cut out the circle.

I wanted the cut to be pretty rough, so that it would look more rustic, like we had just put some random boards together. We left the boards on the back to hold the pieces in a circle and added more screws for support.

If you want to cover up those raw edges of the circle, stain the pallet. I used the gray stain I used with my new Entertainment Center – I just did a light coat on the sides on top. I wanted it to still show the differences in the wood colors a little.

Mark the center of the circle and drill the hole for your clock hardware. You want it just a teeny bit bigger than the center piece of the hardware.

Now it’s time for the giant stencil!

In the past I’ve used an overhead projector to trace large images – but I don’t have access to one anymore. But I found this awesome tutorial for projecting an image without one!

Without going through the whole thing, you basically create your own projector with a box, a flashlight and printed transparency film. Some tips – Set up your box in a dark room. If you’re having trouble getting a clear image, try different flashlights. I found some worked better than others for a nice crisp image. For sizing, try moving your flashlight and box closer or farther apart.

Once your image is traced, place your posterboard or whatever you’re using onto a cutting board. I used my big quilting mat. Cut the image out with a sharp exacto knife, using long smooth cuts.

Here’s the stencil all cut out! This only took about a half hour – not too bad at all!

Place the stencil onto the pallet and tape down the sides. Begin stencilling in the center and work your way out to the edges.

I used the Pearl Martha Stewart paint – which is pretty much my favorite color of all paints ever. If I was stranded on a desert island and could only have one color of craft paint (for all my desert island crafting) I would pick this color.

If you stencil has small pieces you might need to hold them down while you stencil around them so they don’t shift. As an added bonus, you end up with this gorgeous color as nail polish. Score.

You don’t want to completely cover the wood with paint – it will look more rustic if it’s kind of patchy.

Once you’ve finished take off the stencil and check for anything you need to clean up. I call it stencil ooze. Those not-cool dribbles of paint that ooze under the stencil, despite your best efforts to prevent it.

Wet a paper towel lightly and wrap it around your finger. Rub the spot lightly with your fingernail and you can clean up that ooze super easy!

Now the clock is all stencilled and ready to be assembled!

Assemble your clock hardware according to the instructions. This is super easy – just stick the back through the hole you drilled and add the hands. Here’s a shot of the back of the clock.

Now your clock is all finished and ready to hang!

I love how the stencil turned out! It’s such a great contrast with the stained wood.

I love it! What do you think?

Linking up at Sunday Scoop, Today’s Creative Blog, Met Monday, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday, Shabby Creek Cottage, My Repurposed Life, 504 Main, and the other fabulous parties on the party page – make sure you check them out!