Pallet Wood American Flag

Back in April I had this vision of a pallet wood American flag. Well actually, at first it was going to be a store bought wood flag, but I really wanted the distressed look to it. Then I realized, rather than me roughing up some smooth fresh boards, why not use boards that are already rough. So, the kids and I went pallet hunting. 

That thing was clean compared to the other options, but it still was quite dirty. I hammered and tugged and jumped on it until I got all of the boards separated. I ended up with 9 usable boards. Then I had to remove all of the gross nails. Then I sanded off the dark and dirty spots so that the paint would adhere good. I cut two of the boards down to 24" to put on the back to nail the front boards to- I just used the preexisting nail holes on the outer edges when I nailed it all together. The flag measures 25" x 40". 

I did all my work on the garage floor. I dream of a day when I can have a work bench with all of my tools in their own glorious places, but for now the floor works just great!

Then I gave it a rough while painting. I didn't worry about it being thick on the upper left corner because that would get painted blue.

Then, I taped off my stripes, and painted in between them red. After the red was dry, I taped off for my blue section, painted it and let it dry. After it was all dry and tape was removed, I sanded it all down to expose some wood and some of the white paint underneath. It looks nice and rustic and very patriotic.

I've considered putting a star in the upper corner, but until I figure out  the right one, I think it looks great just simple and plain.