Pallet Wood Fish Bait Sign diy
- By Joan
- April 16, 2015
- 18 Comments
I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been on a painted sign fixation. I showed you my Raven sign that I made with a genuine piece of old wood, but there really aren’t many of those around. So, if you still want to make a sign, the next best thing is free wood. Of course I’m talking about pallet wood. It has that aged, rough, beat up quality already built in.
The best thing about my signs, is that you don’t need any special tools to make one yourself. Well, you do need a computer and printer, but other than that…oh, and paint, a paint brush and a pencil…but hopefully you have all that just sitting around the house.
What you may not know about me is that I minored in art in college. I always thought the hardest part with any of my assigned projects was coming up with an idea. This, of course, was before the internet. Yes, I did live in the dark ages…don’t judge me, I’m that old.
But now, when I know I want to do a fish sign, I just Google fish sign. Kind of easy right? That’s where I came up with the above two fish bait signs. Love them!
Instead of just copying either of the pictures above, this time, I decided to put my own spin on the bait sign.
I found this great picture of a fish over at The Graphics Fairy. He started out facing the other way and for some reason (I don’t particularly know why) I wanted him to face right. In Picasa, you can easily do this by pressing ctrl/shift/h.
Over top of the fish I added my “BAIT” text. This font was Algerian. While I liked the slight shadow the font included, I did not like the style of the A. That was easy to change when I started painting.
The fish bait sign was saved and imported over to Publisher where I could enlarge and print out the sign in any size I liked. This sign was 24″ x 11″.
The final picture shows a print preview, the fish will print on 6 sheets of paper. If you need a little more detail, I’m pointing you once again over to my Raven sign.
Once the fish was printed out, the pages were trimmed of any border and taped together.
On the back of the fish picture, I once again used my homemade carbon paper….pencil scribbled on the back of the print out.
Now to prepare the pallet wood…only needed 3 pieces of pallet wood for this sign, each about 4 inches wide and 2 feet long. Each piece of pallet wood was sanded down with a handheld orbital sander, getting rid of all the fuzzy bits and pieces of the rough pallet wood.
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Glued the pallet wood together with wood glue and held all the pieces with a couple of cross braces nailed into the back of the pallet wood.
Back on the front of the sign, a coat of dark stain was wiped on with a rag.
Over top of the stain, a coat of gray paint was added. This is actually the same paint I used for my crate makeover earlier in the week. Might as well use up some of that extra wall paint if you have it.
Once dry, the entire sign was sanded once again. You can see the stained wood shining through.
Transfer the fish outline to the pallet wood. Tape the fish pattern to the wood and trace the outline with a pen. The pencil scribbled on the back will transfer to the sign.
Start painting.
This guy was painted with just 6 colors. White, black, rusty brown, bright green, light blue and a medium blue.
Had to transfer the BAIT sign twice. Once I had painted in the fish, the transfer lines had filled in.
To make more of that “vintage” feel, the entire fish was once again sanded.
I added a coat of wax to seal off the fish. I actually have another sign in mind, so I’m not finished yet.
Don’t let the painting intimidate you, it’s kind of hard to mess up, especially when you sand half of the paint back off. But you could also choose a less multicolored fish…I still love the red fish in my googled picture.
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Joan, this is magnificent! Seriously and sincerely. I love the painting and then the distressing, it turned out absolutely remarkable. I hope you are thrilled!
Thanks Christina, I always love when a plan comes together.
Thats one beautiful fish! Gorgeously painted.
Great job on the fish. Question?? is the sawhorse a good size to use as a quilt rack?
Thanks,
Sue
The size would be fine, I would just sand the top really well if you use pallet wood. Wouldn’t want any splinters in your quilts.
Beautiful! I promised my husband at Christmas that I would paint him a “bait and tackle” sign for the mini log cabin he built for our grandsons. I have yet to put any effort into it. My schedule is getting back to normal (finally) and just today I thought I should really make good on that holiday promise.
This post was timely and I am now inspired! Thank you for sharing.
If you can hold off long enough, you’d have a great Fathers Day present. Have fun and thanks for stopping by.
It’s fantastic! I don’t know if I have the artistic ability to pull this off but it’s going to be something I try for my husband (avid fisherman!). I especially liked how you created the aged wood look. With your permission I will be “stealing” this idea.
Carol
Love how this turned out!! I also like how you painted the A. Great job!!
It turned out so great! I live in Florida so I decorate with a lot of nautical things. You are so talented! Hugs, Diane
Absolutely amazing! I am pretty sure you are my favorite link every week :)!
You are so talented! This vintage looking sign is great!
[…] Most of you know I’m a freak for old signs. And I love seeing other’s spin on it. Hand painted fish sign / Scavenger Chic […]
My son is a fishing nut and would love this sign, but frankly I like it too. Very cool and great tutorial!!
I’ve never really been a ‘sign’ kind of gal, but this tutorial is so excellent and the fish so darn pretty – you’ve made me a believer! I just picked up five pallets so will start making some fun signs for my veranda!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your ideas with us – not to mention writing such great tutorials!
[…] Pallet wood. You’ve got to love it: it’s inexpensive, rough and rustic, full of character, and makes great looking signs. A while back we repurposed some pallet wood into a vintage-inspired French grocery sign. Our latest foray into the world of pallet signs was inspired by a photo taken by Scavenger Chic. […]
Wow that turned out amazing! You did an amazing job! My brother’s a big fisherman he would love this. ?
Hi Joan,
My name is Jodi and I really love your work! In particular, that red fish bait sign is really great! I’m hosting a nautical themed event and wondering if it was for sale or if you would be willing to custom make one for our event? Please let me know and thank you!
All the best,
Jodi