Friday, February 24, 2017

Home & Garden + PalletPalooza + Ticket Giveaway!

We are happy to be invited to participate in the Home & Garden Expo in Kalamazoo, MI coming up March 9-12, 2017. Each year the Home & Garden Expo showcases new building trends, products, ideas, and inspiration and it is a wonderful family friendly event.
Home & Garden Expo
WIN TICKETS! WE HAVE THREE SETS OF TICKETS THAT YOU COULD WIN! 
GO TO OUR PALLETPALOOZA FB PAGE TO ENTER. FACEBOOK.COM/PALLETSWMI

Home Builders Association of Western Michigan (HBA), established in 1946, is the professional association for members of the housing industry in Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Calhoun, Branch and Van Buren Counties as well as parts of Allegan and Barry Counties. Builder members consist of residential contractors, remodelers, and developers. Associate members represent all professions that support the home building industry.

The Expo is also featuring MarketKazoo which is is a unique shopping section of the Home & Garden Expo reserved for Kalamazoo area artists, boutique decor, and gifts for the home & garden.
MarketKazoo
At our booth space you will be able to meet the PalletPalooza™ team and learn more about entering this cash prize competition.....plus!!!!!

We will have a fun Make It & Take It pallet craft project. For a $5 donation to Goodwill Industries of SWMI, attendees can give a pallet project a try to make and keep.

Last year on PalletPalooza Day, we had a similar Make It & Take It project. We provide a blank pallet piece, fun and inspirational artwork, assorted gems and jewelry pieces and people provide the creativity!
We are also excited to have a PalletPalooza furniture category entry on display at our booth. SKP Design created this amazing helix table as a team entry last year and has kindly donated it to PalletPalooza. This table is a great example of the possibilities of what you can make out of recycled pallets!
SKPDesign.com
We appreciate the support SKP Design have provided PalletPalooza for both 2016 and this year!
PalletPalooza™ will be at our booth space Thursday, March 9 from 12pm - 8pm, Friday, March 10 from 12pm - 8pm, and Saturday, March 11 from 10am - 8 pm. 
For information about tickets, hours, location and more visit Kalamazoo Home & Garden. 

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Soaring Eagle Recycled Pallet Flag & Talons Out Honor Flight Adult Prom

PalletPalooza made a connection recently with Talons Out Honor Flight. This network of people fly World War II Veterans in and around Southwest Michigan to Washington, D.C. (at no charge to the Vets) to visit their WWII memorial.


They are having a fundraising event called an Adult Prom - how cool is that? If you had a good time at your prom and you want to do it again, or you had an awful teenage experience and want  a do over - this was your chance. I say was because they have sold out their event! Good for them - I look forward to pictures on their Facebook Page.  😊
They asked if PalletPalooza would like to participate in their silent auction and we said YES! It will be a great opportunity to share a pallet project and to encourage more people to know about recycling pallets and perhaps get involved in PalletPalooza™. We know that pictures of pallet creations are one thing, but seeing is believing!

My sister Diane and I collaborated on this piece on behalf of PalletPalooza™.


One thing to keep in mind. I struggled with the stars. My first attempt was creating a star stamp with a potato. (learn how to do that here: Fun Stuff to Do) It looked good for the first 10 stars, but after that my potato was getting a little soft and distorted with each stamp. Plus, a pallet is not smooth or even, but that is the charm of working with recycled pallets, so my stars were not aligning.
Here was my first attempt:


Thank goodness I had a good friend at work who said "if I am being honest, I would do the stars a little different next time". Now that is really a good friend, because she was honest and helpful and confirmed what I saw, that the stars were not good. 😐 It is okay! It is just recycled pallet wood, so I sanded off the paint from the field of stars and started fresh.

Using a stencil and stencil pouncer, my stars have aligned and I am really happy.

Thank you to Talons Out Honor Flight. We appreciate the opportunity to work with you in supporting our community in Southwestern Michigan!  

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If you love recycling pallets - you need to enter PalletPalooza™!

New to the Kalamazoo Area, this is an exciting recycled pallet creation competition and event.

Recycled pallets will be transformed into amazing projects from wall art to furniture.
PalletPalooza™ is celebrating the recycled pallet trend with a competition and awards event.
Visit our event website at PalletSWMI.com
PalletPalooza™ will benefit Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan and its mission to provide employment, education, training, and support services to individuals and families so they can achieve self-sufficiency.

Stay up to date with PalletPalooza news and information and sign up for email updates: HERE

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

I Heart Pallet Projects - DIY Pallet Projects Featuring Hearts

We really do 💗 pallets! This is a pallet wall art piece that I created and is hanging in my cubicle here at Goodwill:


This was a simple project - the pallet that I chose was a beautifully sun-bleached pallet that
was perfect for a beach themed project. I folded a piece of copy paper in half and cut out a heart - those elementary school skills come in handy!

This paper heart was my guide for hot gluing my shell collection on the pallet.
Here is the back of the pallet:
And a close up:

Another quick pallet heart project:

Take a small pallet board, sand smooth.
I wanted this to be a quick project at my desk here at work, so I used what I had on hand. 😊 That is the beauty of working with pallets - they can be rustic, charming, and simple and you should not have to run to the store each time you have a pallet project inspiration. I had dark red craft paint and a bunch of old keys.

My art skills are limited, so I had to cut out another heart for a template. 😀

I had a small collection of generic looking car keys, so I picked one that looked the most unusual. My old nail is one that I pulled out of a pallet, pounded it straight through the keyhole about half way and bent the nail with my hammer. Done!


This was my inspiration piece from beyondthepicket-fence.com.
SOURCE: Beyondthepicket-fence.com

Much cuter, but again, use what you have! Make it unique to you! So easy to make and give away! #KeyToMyHeart

Looking for more heart-themed pallet projects? Here is our round up:
renew-create-restore.blogspot.com has instruction for creating these four lovely pallet pieces.
SOURCE: Renew-create-restore.blogspot.com
Scavengerchic.com  combines a little "junk" and pallets to create this sweetheart piece.
SOURCE: Scavengerchic.com
shanty-2-chic.com has great tutorials to make all of the pieces and parts to create this pallet sign:
SOURCE: Shanty-2-chic.com
#PalletPalooza is a recycled pallet creation cash competition and event.
 Visit our event website and mark your calendars - entry period starts May 22!


Updates to the PalletPalooza Event Website - PalletSWMI.com

The time is drawing near to enter PalletPalooza™ 2017. Even though we are looking forward to the beginning of PalletPalooza™, it is good to enjoy each day as it comes. Half of February is already gone!

So enjoy the end of winter and the beginning of spring... be thinking of your pallet projects... and follow along as we bring you updates that are being made on the PalletPalooza™ event website: PalletSWMI.com.
Here is the new home page:
PalletSWMI.com Home Page
We love it! And thank you to  Newhall Klein, our web designer and PalletPalooza™ Sponsor.
  Check out our social media links... and the Facebook link goes to our new PalletPalooza Facebook Page. 

PalletSWMI.com Social Media Links

Speaking of the PalletPalooza Facebook page - if you have items that you are creating out of pallets that you want to showcase, or sell, feel free to post on the PalletPalooza Facebook page. We have an open forum to all who love recycling pallets!

What is next? Coming up soon we are going to have an information booth and a Make It & Take It recycled pallet craft project at the Home & Garden Expo in Kalamazoo Michigan, March 9-12, 2017. 
PalletSWMI.com - What's New Banner

You can find links for events like this and other happenings on PalletSWMI.com, so be sure to bookmark the site and check back often. 😀

And lastly, don't forget to sign up for PalletPalooza™ emails! 
PalletSWMI.com Email Sign Up Form
Stay tuned for more updates! 

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Recycled Pallet Beer Flight Round Up

First off - What is a beer flight?

I found this nice explanation at Today.com/food

"A flight of beers is a wonderful thing – it's a sampler platter, speed dating, a master's class and a family reunion all wrapped into one. The concept is simple. You go to a restaurant, bar or brewery that has many delicious beers on tap, and you choose a selection of sample-sized brews to try back-to-back." Today.com/food

Samples are good, especially if you are a craft beer novice, (that is just my opinion). 

We have put together a round up of DIY Beer Flights made with recycled pallets or any old piece of wood you have laying around.  
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Let's start off this round up with a really nice tutorial found on yahoo.com:
SOURCE: yahoo.com
A beer flight and a carrier - Nice! See more at decorandthedog.net
SOURCE: Decorandthedog.net
Really nice touch with the jelly jars! Find instructions for this rustic flight at diydiva.net
SOURCE: diydiva.net
This last flight uses chalkboard paint - a good idea so you can write what beer sample is in each glass.
Tutorial found on threescoopsoflove.blogspot.com
SOURCE: threescoppsoflove.blogspot.com
Here are a few more we found on Etsy.com that are pretty cool:
SOURCE: Etsy.com
SOURCE: Etsy.com
SOURCE: Etsy.com
SOURCE: Etsy.com
Find more recycled pallet ideas on the PalletPalooza Pinterest Page → Pinterest.com/palletpalooza
Keep up to date with PalletPalooza News by email. → palletswmi.com
Cheers!