Beautiful Art Easel for Kids from Scrap Wood Pallets

Check out what I did with these scrap pallets to make an easel. This would make a great art easel for kids.

I needed something to hold up my project whiteboard, quickly, and my kids have been bugging me for an art easel. Unfortunately, my scrap woodpile is getting pretty small, but I did have a few pallets lying around.

This simple DIY easel I made from a single pallet. It’s approximately 6 feet tall when folded. The unfolded height is perfect for writing on my whiteboard. It would also make a great stand for a wonderful holiday wreath.

wreath easel, kids art easel, whiteboard easel

How To Make an Easel

To start this project, first, I broke down my pallet. A quick trick I learned that saves a ton of time is to cut just inside the nails, with a circular saw. Set the blade depth to about 1/2″ which will cit the planks but not the supporting boards. Then the planks are loose enough to be pried up from the middle.

breaking down pallets with a circular saw easel ly

Once I harvested all my pallet wood, I selected the cleanest boards for the legs and ledge, since they are the most visible. My planks were not long enough on their own, so I joined them together with pieces of scrap, to make 72″ long legs.

I cut 3 matching sets of legs for this easel. It stands like a tripod.

After cutting all my wood, I laid out the basic frame to get an idea where to mount the ledge, and determine what angle to cut the top.

Once I had an idea how everything would fit, I screwed the backboard for the ledge down to hold the legs in place, then used a circular saw to cut the top so the pieces would lay flat.

To attach the leg to the easel I used an old door hinge, and another piece of scrap wood for extra support.

DIY kids art easel from scrap wood pallets

There you have it. A rustic and functional easel. Great for a whiteboard, cork, or chalkboard, or an art easel for kids. Even a great stand for a large picture. WikiHow has plans and easy-to-follow instructions for pretty much the same Art Easel available here. I wonder if they saw my post. lol

This could easily be sanded and painted as well, and with a bit more time could be made into a much less rustic piece to display, using this simple plan.