Time to Get Patriotic!

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I've got a soldier headed home soon {beyond excited!} so I thought I should dress up the front door a little for him. You might not have a soldier coming home but Memorial Day and 4th of July are coming up. Time to get Patriotic!

I looked online to find a few ideas and as always found something I really liked at Pottery Barn. And as always it was way overpriced.

Pottery Barn ~ $129.00 ~ I'll cut them a little slack because it's
twice the size of mine but still.... Ouch!

Or so I thought until I came across something similar at my always-lowest-price-on-cute-decor store, Target. So I set to work creating my own.

$159.99 ~ Again, it's twice the size but it's metal!

Materials:
3 ~ 1/2"x3"x3' boards
2 ~ Eye Hooks
Red, White, Blue and Black Paint
Rope (or some other way to hang the flag)
Star Stamp ~ I happen to have this on hand and it was just the right size but otherwise grab a stencil or freehand your stars.
20 ~ 3/4 inch wood screws (10 would probably suffice)
Felt or felt pads

I cut the 3 boards in half making 6 pieces at 18". I wanted my edges to be uneven so I didn't worry too much about making the cuts exact. With one of my 18" pieces I cut that into half again. So you should have 5 - 18" pieces and 2 - 9" pieces. The 9" pieces will hold your flag together in the back.

3 of my freshly cut pieces sanded down and ready to paint

After sanding and wiping down all your boards, start painting. Paint 2 boards all red, 1 board all white and with your remaining 2 pieces paint the left side blue and on the right side 1 board red and 1 board white.

The hard part... wait for them to dry

To distract yourself from doing any work with your wet boards grab the two 9" pieces and at the ends drill a hole to insert your eye hooks

The size of your eye hooks will depend on what you decide to
hang the flag with. I was using a 1/4" rope so I grabbed the
1/4" hooks

Insert your eye hooks. You'll notice my black squares, disregard them. I ripped them off and added another step later in the project.

Ok, headed back over to your boards and add in the stars. While I usually believe in the Rule of Odds, I thought 6 stars seemed to fit. {Rules are meant to be broken}

I did go back and touch up the stars.

Again, let the paint dry! So grab your rope and the two 9" boards. I created a simple knot. I measured from the hook I planned to hang the flag from and where my peephole is on the door to come up with the right length of rope. I hate covering up the peephole. 

The eye hooks and knots will actually be
hidden so they don't have to look pretty.

Ok, here we go! Time to age the flag... if you want that look. I watered down my black paint and brushed it across my boards. I quickly wiped it away but noticed it didn't take on hardly any darkness. So I went back over the boards and let the paint sit for a few seconds before wiping off the excess paint.

This photo shows the white board with my watered down black
paint on it before I wiped it down.

Patience is a virtue.... time to let it dry again. Please make sure you wait. The next step you'll have to flip the boards over so you don't want any smugging. Grab your 9" boards with eye hooks and drill your holes.

I went overboard, for each 9" board I drilled 2 holes on each
of the flag boards. It seems a bit much, you could probably
get away with only one hole for each board.

I added a piece of felt over the boards. I wanted to cover the wood and the screws so they didn't rub against the door. I wouldn't want anyone's door scratched but living in a condo where they are supposed to take care of the exterior, you think about these things.

The last step! (The one I had to redo)

You're ready to go!

Thanks for stopping by!


Linking with: Organize and Decorate Everything for their Point of View Link Patriotic Party, Patriotic Party with Funky Junk Interiors, Patriotic Party Parade with Itsy Bitsy Paper. 

***While I'm thrilled to share my step-by-step directions, the good and the bad, these are intended for your personal use. I'm always happy to hear and see what my bloggers have been working on. BUT a lot of work goes into these creations and while I have no issues sharing so you are able to create the work for your precious homes please understand that selling an exact duplication of my designs is highly frowned upon. :( Please always be considerate of another artists work. Thank you!***