Craft Hack: Pottery Barn Inspired American Flag

Summer has started for the schoolkids and the 4th of July will be upon us before long. It'll be cookouts and swimming parties for the next few months, so I've begun thinking about some cool seasonal decor that won't break the bank. I love to change the look of my living room according to the season, but I'm much too cheap to spend any money on it. Thank goodness I can always count on Pottery Barn to think of things I can make myself.

Their's:

Mine:

This is a great project because of its versatility. Not everyone has $129 to spend on a wooden American Flag, and even if you did, the PB version might be the wrong size. BUT!! A 4x8 foot piece of harwood at your local hardware store is less than $10 and you'll be able to use it for several projects. And honestly, if you've got a garage, there's a good chance you've got some scrap wood laying around already.

Tutorial after the jump!
UPDATE!! This project was featured over on Bella Before & After! Check it out...





I started with a piece of wood, about 16"x12", and whitewashed it so that the wood grain would show through the paint when it was all finished.

Since there are 13 stripes on the flag, I divided the height of my scrap by 13 to figure out how wide my stripes needed to be. In my case, it was about 3/4 inch, so I masked with 3/4 inch masking tape. Simple! I also masked off the area where the stars would be. Then I spray painted it red.

Next, I used some star-shaped stickers. I didn't worry about lining them up just so, but if you're after precision, you'll need to measure and space them carefully. After that, I painted on the blue with a brush since I didn't have blue spray paint.

I followed the blue paint with a coat of Minwax Wood Sheen in Colonial Pine, but any woodstain or varnish will do. Once that dried I distressed the living crap out of it with a hammer.

I also sanded the paint, both on the front and around the edges. This helps to fade the color of the paint (which at this point is still a bit too vivid for what I wanted) and it ages it nicely. After all the painting, varnishing, distressing and sanding are through, I finished the whole thing with a coat of laquer to give it a pretty sheen and help weather-proof it, as I am toying with the idea of hanging it in the covered patio for the summer.

And voila! My own custom-sized American Flag! This project was reeeeally inexpensive, compared to the $129 Pottery Barn version, and I was able to size it perfectly for my mantle.

And I still have plenty of scrap wood left for other projects...

To Be Continued!