I Made "that Star-spangled Banner yet Wave"!

7 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Easy

O, say can you see that I came up with a different way to display the American flag?

I have been meaning to do this project for a while but, well, you know. Life sometimes gets in the way. I bought five emergency candles from the Dollar Tree. I bought them for the glass holder so I had to somehow get rid of the wax. I laid a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of my broiler pan (?). (At least, I think that's what it's called. I mean, I don't ever use it.) I found two long metal pieces, sort of like rebar, at the barn. I set them on top of the pan. On top of the metal pieces, I sat the candles upside-down. I placed them in a cold over and heated it until it was 200 degrees. This took about 10-15 minutes for all of the wax to melt. After they cooled, I washed them with soap and water, making sure to get rid of any waxy residue.

After they were completely dry, I poured about half an inch of white acrylic paint inside. I swirled and twirled it around making sure to get it all covered. Then I sat them upside down to drain: moving them periodically so the paint wouldn't pool under them. After they were completely dry, I taped them off.

I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone for not being able to give the flag thirteen stripes. The width of the tape and my lack of math skills are to blame. My next step was to paint it red. FIRST, make sure you turn the glasses upside down so you won't get red paint on the inside.

Then I took the tape off of the soon-to-be blue part. I used the tape as a guide so I knew roughly where to place the stars. (In hindsight, I shouldn't have put the last row of stars on. You live and you learn.)

As luck would have it, the stickers came with a piece of cardboard that was perfect to cover the red on the bottom, as to not get blue on that part. Before I painted it, once again I turned the glass upside down.

Luckily, the paint dries quickly. So this is when I started removing all of the tape and stickers. The stickers were tricky, but once I used a X-acto knife, they came off easily.

My last step was to seal both the outside and inside with a clear coat.

Finally, I was able to display my flag proudly. I sat battery operated tealights in the bottom. Since they were the "flickering" kind, it gave my flag the appearance of waving in the wind.

Would you display this flag proudly at your house?

Suggested materials:
  • 5- emergency candles   (Dollar Tree)
  • White acrylic paint   (Walmart)
  • Ainter's tape   (Lowe's)
See all materials
Heather McKinney
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  2 questions
  • Diane Diane on Jun 13, 2016
    since the candle is already in the vase, why not just leave it for the white part and decorate with ribbon instead of painting? Just a thought...might be easier.
  • So cute! Love this! Is there a certain kind of paint to use on the inside? I'd be afraid of it being flammable and all catching fire.

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 88 comments
Next