V is for Vinyl

This has been one crazy week! I'm pretty sure it was just one long string of Mondays. I'm so glad it's done. Of course, I work an alternating schedule that affords me one 2-day weekend followed by a 5-day weekend and...guess which side of the rotation this weekend falls on? Blerg. Back to work on Monday.

Luckily, this weekend will bring a little bit of fun back into view (hopefully). Today I'm sharing one of my favorite three projects for the 2015 Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I'm also participating in Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon (which starts at 6 a.m. local time).

Today is V day, not to be confused with Valentine's Day. Today I'm featuring my Vinyl Pallet Art - a wall decoration that Collin & I made for my sister-in-law and her family for Christmas. This one was really fun to do and I think it turned out pretty well.

Ready to see how we made it?

We started out with a pretty dirty and worn pallet that we gathered up for free from a friend. Collin tore the pallet apart so that we had some individual slats to deal with.

He built me a solid rectangle out of four of the slats by using two of the other pallet pieces as vertical stabilizing pieces on the back. I stained the whole thing in the same MinWax Wood Finish stain (Provincial 211) that I used for the Children's Growth Rulers.

Once the basic construction was done, I started adding on the decor. I cut out my vinyl using my Pazzle and transferred the individual letters with transfer tape to keep everything appropriately in line.

I used indoor vinyl. It was okay, but for any future projects I'll be using outdoor vinyl. The indoor is just a little extra temperamental and struggles a little bit with uneven textures like that of the wood.

I pushed the letters down pretty hard and made sure everything was smoothed out so that any bubbling up would be minimal.

Once the letters were all on, I added my photos. I added a 5x7 of each of the girls and an 8x10 shot of their entire family. These were ModPodged to attach and then both the photos and the lettering got a ModPodge coating.

I let the initial Mod Podge layer dry and then did a second layer over the entire face of the pallet. We put some photo hangers on the back and it now hangs on their family room wall.

Not bad for an old, ugly pallet, right?

I can't believe we're almost finished with A to Z! This month has gone by in a flash. I have some work to get done before Monday since I've totally procrastinated on a few of the last letters, but I'll be back with letters W through Z then.

In the meantime, I'll be posting about my Dewey's progress in an additional set of postings over the 24 hours of the read-a-thon. If you're a reader, feel free to join in! There aren't any set rules, it's just a social event wherein you get some reading done at your own pace. There are also mini-challenges and chats and it's a good excuse to cozy up with a book and some junk food. I'm ready to get my read on!

Miss any of my A to Z posts so far this year? Find them below...

1. A is for Anna (Easy Anna Cape)
2. B is for Bath (Appliqued Bath Mat)
3. C is for Child (Children's Growth Ruler)
4. D is for Denim (Denim Bib)
5. E is for Etch (Etched Casserole Dishes)
6. F is for Felt (Felt Hopscotch Mat)
7. G is for Good Night ("Good Night" Envelope Pillows)
8. H is for Hood (Easy Hooded Towel)
9. I is for Insulated (Insulated Beverage Cozies)
10. J is for Jumper (Embroidered Spring Jumper)
11. K is for Know (Know When to Hold 'Em/Fold 'Em Laundry Sign)
12. L is for Loveseat (Envelope Loveseat Pillows)
13. M is for Mittens (Fleece Baby Mittens)
14. N is for Ninja Turtle (Felt Ninja Turtle)
15. O is for Owl (Owl Stuffies)
16. P is for Princess (Princess Peg Dolls)
17. Q is for Quilt (Moustache Quilt)
18. R is for Reading (Appliqued Reading Pillow)
19. S is for Superheroes (Superhero Peg Dolls)
20. T is for Tumblers (Custom Etched Barware)
21. U is for Upcycled (Little Kitchen)

Are you visiting from A to Z?

Be sure to leave me a comment (including your blog link) so I can come over and return the favor!