Pallet Sign - "University of Oregon"

My family are all HUGE University of Oregon fans.....HUGE! A while back I saw an Oregon wood sign and loved it except it was made of really cheap wood and looked almost fake. With my new obsession with pallet furniture, I have seen a lot of signs made with pallet boards. For my brother's birthday, I decided to get creative.....

With my husbands help, we took apart a pallet. Only 4 boards survived the demolition (good thing I only needed 3). 

I gave the boards a quick sand with a medium grade sandpaper (I really just wanted to use my new sander)!

Since Oregon has been using a lot of gray in their uniforms, I bought gray wood stain. The photos make it look a tad blue but it turned out to be a really nice gray. The stain went on quite thick so after one coat, I sanded the color down a bit to show more of the wood grain.

Using 4 flat metal brackets, I secured the boards together. I made sure to use flat head screws so that they would not scratch up the wall once the sign was hung up. 

I printed out a copy of what I wanted to the "Oregon" to look like and cut out the letters to use as stencils.

I traced the letters onto the pallet boards. 

 I took dark green acrylic paint and panted in the letters (this was a bit challenging given how uneven the boards were).

Using a yellow paint pen, I traced the letters (even more challenging with the uneven boards).

I twisted wire around 2 of the screws on the back so that it would be easy to hang. 

I took ultra fine sand paper and went over the entire sign to take away the "new paint" look. The sign turned out better than I had planned. I can't wait to give it to my brother!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC!!

NOTE:  ***Before selecting your pallet, make sure that you are aware of how the pallet was treated in order to make sure it is safe for your house. All pallets should be marked with a code that lets you know how it has been treated. 

-Heat treatment (HT) (SAFEST OPTION FOR USE IN YOUR HOME)-Methyl bromide fumigation (MB) -Chemical pressure impregnation (CPI)It is also very important to make sure that the pallet is free of insects. Make sure the wood is in good condition and does not splinter easy