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DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor

Published: Jul 3, 2015 · Modified: Nov 2, 2015 by Ashley Phipps · 874 words. · About 5 minutes to read this article. · 15 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads and sponsored posts · This blog uses cookies · See our privacy policy for more info Filed Under: Craft, DIY, Home Decor, Sponsored Post

Every once in a while I find something I love and know I will do something with....later.  I have a few things like that hanging around to be honest, do you??  Today I am really excited that I had the opportunity to turn one of my fun finds into a beautiful piece of industrial decor!  I am so thrilled to partner with Elmer's today as part of their creative team to share how fun and easy it is to create this beautiful DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor!

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor - come see how simple this industrial decor is to make - I love this look

Isn't that so cool!?  I really am in love with how it turned out!  And it looks really pretty on my Industrial Cabinet that I built recently too!  I don't think it will stay there forever, but for now it is pretty!

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor - I love how simple yet striking this is - such beautiful diy industrial decor

With a little bit of work and just a few supplies, I was able to turn a craft store find into something stunning!  I really truly love how this turned out!

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor - so simple to make and is such fun and bold diy industrial decor

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor

To create this you will need:

  • Metal Ampersand (I found this at a local craft store)
  • (1) 2" x 4" x 6' Construction Lumber (the more rustic the better)
  • (4) Bolts
  • Elmer's Wood Glue Max
  • Elmer's ProBond Advance
  • Cabot Wood Stain, Aged Leather (or your preference of stain)
  • Rustoleum Grey Hammered Paint
  • Rag for staining
  • Gloves for staining
  • Foam Brush
  • Painters Tape
  • Way to Cut Bolts and possible a vice
  • Compound Miter Saw
  • Electric Sander and sand paper
  • Kreg Jig and 1 ¼" screws
  • Drill and Driver
  • Painters Tape

Here is a close up of what the metal ampersand looked like when I bought it.

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor

It's cute, but I was excited to make it into something special!

And these are the two glues I used for this project from Elmer's: Wood Glue Max and ProBond Advanced.

I think Elmer's Wood Glue Max is my new favorite wood glue.  I always use wood glue whenever I am working on any project with wood.  It does a great job of bonding and is paintable and stainable.  I used Elmer's Wood Glue to make my Rustic Serving Tray with a Gold Metal Arrow Accent HERE.

Elmer's ProBond Advanced does an amazing job at bonding porous to non-porous surfaces together!  Like metal to wood.  This stuff is seriously so cool!  You can see how I used it to attach a mirror to a wood frame in my Hidden Jewelry Holder HERE.

I used both the Wood Glue Max and the ProBond Advanced for my Industrial Cabinet IKEA Hack HERE.

glue

I began by using my miter saw to cut my boards into four 18" lengths.

Then I used my Kreg Jig and a drill to create pocket holes in my wood boards.

kreg jig wood boards together

I added Elmer's Wood Glue Max in between every set of boards.

Wood Glue

And then I secured the boards together to create a pallet board!

kreg jig wood boards together

After my pallet board was created, I gave the board a good sanding and then I stained it with two coats of stain.

stain pallet board

Then I used my paint brush to paint a bit of the Rustoleum Hammered Metal paint on the heads of the bolts and I let it dry completely.

For the next part it is helpful to have a vice and some sort of metal cut off tool.  I enlisted my husband's help to cut the head off of the bolts for me.

Why!?  Because I really wanted this board to look like it was bolted together without actually dealing with bolting it together!  If I put the bolts through the wood, it would not allow the board to sit flush against the wall.  So this is my solution to get an industrial look while still keeping this decor functional.

Some of the paint may come off of the bolts while they are in the vice, that is ok!  It actually just adds to the industrial, well-worn look I was going for!  They ended up matching the metal ampersand perfectly!!

cut bolts

Then I use Elmer's ProBond Advanced to glue my metal ampersand to the wood pallet board!

Glue DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor together

I held the metal ampersand and the bolt heads in place with painter's tape and then stacked a few heavy items on it until it dried completely.

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor

After it dried according to the glue's instructed length of time, I removed my painters tape and set my cute diy industrial ampersand decor up in my home to admire!

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor

This approximately 15" x 18" decor only ended up costing about $14 to create!!!  (I had the paint, stain, all tools, screws on hand already and Elmer's kindly sent me the glue for the project.)  But it still ended up being a really inexpensive project!  Wahoo!

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor close up

Creating a really nice looking project is always about the details.  These bolt heads make this look industrial and rustic!  And the knotted wood helps this board look worn and old even though we just bought it at the store!

This truly is one of my favorite decor items I have created recently!!  And I would really love for you to pin it!

DIY Industrial Ampersand Decor - this is one of my favorite diy decor items ever

If you like this project, you might want to check out these cool posts too:

DIY Industrial Cabinet - this industrial cabinet is stunning and you will never believe that it is an IKEA hack

Industrial Cabinet IKEA Hack

Framed Mirror with Hidden Jewelry Organization

DIY Framed Mirror with Hidden Jewelry Storage

Rustic Serving Tray

Rustic Serving Tray with Gold Arrow Accent

PB Knock-Off Diamond Art

Pottery Barn Knock-Off Diamond Art

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alicia

    July 06, 2015 at 10:15 am

    This is adorable! love that you can use it all around the house in all decor 🙂 Super cute!

    Reply
  2. Claire @ A Little Claireification

    July 07, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    This is gorgeous!

    Reply
  3. Britni

    July 07, 2015 at 1:35 pm

    I haven't ever used the probond glue before. It looks awesome!

    Reply
  4. Vidya @ Whats Ur Home Story

    July 08, 2015 at 12:50 am

    Love this idea. Simple and rustic art. Adding to my TO DO List.

    Reply
  5. Jenna

    July 08, 2015 at 4:50 pm

    Love the rustic look of this!

    Reply
  6. Nikki Frank-Hamilton

    July 09, 2015 at 2:41 pm

    This turned out fantastic. I love it. I am so on the current ampersand trend, I have one on my desk and have seen many projects that I would like to create! Great job, and I am really impressed with your tool skills, envious actually!

    Reply
  7. Vanessa

    July 11, 2015 at 9:56 am

    Definitely love the ampersand sign! It turned out really cute! Maybe I could win one!! hint hint 😉

    Reply
  8. Claire

    July 13, 2015 at 3:39 am

    Really like how you managed to achieve the rustic look with the new wood. thanks for sharing

    Reply
  9. Amy Anderson

    July 15, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    I LOVE how it turned out!

    Reply
  10. Lolly Jane

    July 16, 2015 at 12:46 am

    LOVE this, Ash! It's perfect for my boys industrial room, thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  11. Gilly @ Colour Saturated. Life

    July 16, 2015 at 7:58 am

    Well I simply love this! I always love the look of wood and metal together.

    Reply
  12. Vanessa

    July 16, 2015 at 10:37 am

    Oh man, I'm all over the industrial look of this! Pinning for future use!

    Reply
  13. Creatively Homespun

    July 18, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    I love this!!!! I'll have to remember this when I start decorating the new living room! Thanks for sharing at the Show and Tell Link Party! Pinned!

    Reply
  14. maxine Brady

    July 21, 2015 at 10:29 am

    Hello from the UK. Love this idea. You're so handy! Wish I could get on crafting like this a bit more . I'm all about the cushions!

    Reply
  15. McKenzie

    July 22, 2015 at 4:41 pm

    Cute &!!

    Reply

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