Introduction: Wood Pallet Mug Holder
This was a DIY I did about a year ago which proved to be quite useful. I have so many cute mugs I've collected over the years and I barely have space to keep them (I've also broken 2 because of limited space :( ). I needed some place to hang them but didn't want a boring old rod.
I needed to make a different type of mug holder and I got the pallet from work. There are so many pallets that are discarded where I work, because they're used for moving boxes and just abandoned in corners after. I just picked a small one up.
Step 1: Materials:
- Wood Pallet (any store will have pallets of different sizes after hours; they use them to transport boxes and wouldn't mind giving you 1 or 2. Additionally, craft stores also carry them).
- Sand paper (available at hardware stores)
- Letter Stencils (I got mine at Joann's) and Acrylic Paint of your choice
- Coat Hooks - 1 pk or 2 depending on how many mugs you want to hang (Walmart has a bunch of different options)
- Drill to screw the hooks into the pallet
- Screws to hang the pallet (available at hardware stores)
- Putty
- Brushes - Fine tip and Thick
- Long Ruler
- Pencil and Fine Tip Sharpie
Step 2: Procedure: Step 1 - Preparing the Pallet
Use the sand paper to remove rough edges and wood bits from the pallet (wear gloves while doing this step).
Step 3: Step 2 - Painting the Pallet
Once your pallet is nice and smooth, add a coat of champagne gold metallic acrylic paint to give it a glittery sheen and let dry (this step is optional; you can leave the pallet as is).
Step 4: Step 3 - Attaching the Hooks to Hang
- Decide how many hooks you need and where you want them to be placed on your pallet. With the ruler, make a small mark with the pencil towards the middle of the pallet. (make sure the marks are equidistant from each other, leaving enough space between hooks so the mugs do not hit each other when hanging).
- Place the pallet on the floor and arrange your hook with the screws. Use the drill to fix the screws and hook on the pallet (I recommend using a patio / balcony / garden to do this; please be careful when drilling: wear gloves and eye protecting glasses).
Step 5: Step 4 - Stenciling in Your Message
- Once all the hooks have been drilled into the pallet, use the letter stencils to pencil in a fun message or word.
I have 5 rows on my pallet and I put my hooks on the 3rd and 5th row. I went with "Enjoy a cup of CreativiTea" on the first 2 rows of my pallet and on the fourth row I put in "Or Kaffe". The whole sentence becomes "Enjoy a cup of CreativiTea, or Kaffe".
- Use a light colored sharpie, like light blue, over the pencil lines to make the letters more visible.
- Paint over the stenciled letters carefully using fine tip brush to outline the edges and a thick brush to color in the letters.
- Let dry for 30 mins (you might need to add another coat if the color you choose is light; I chose an espresso brown which was nice and dark, only 1 coat was needed).
Step 6: Step 5 - Final Touches
- Take the putty and roll between fingers to make it more supple. Add a small dot of putty to the back of the screws behind the pallet. Cover the sharp ends with the putty and gently mold the putty on either side.
- Once all the sharp ends are covered, drill the hanging screws into the wall to hang your pallet (Drill screws into the wall and let your pallet rest on them. Make sure you have enough screws to give more stability).
Step 7: Step 6 - Fun Accents
I painted a coffee shaped accent on to the pallet before the phrase "Or Kaffe". You can always embellish with stickers or cutouts if you like. Use brighter colors for the words to make the whole thing more vibrant.