How to Make a Rustic Stick Flag - Easy 4th July Craft
Head to your backyard for most of the supplies you're going to need for this fun patriotic project. Today, I'm going to show you how to make a rustic American flag DIY using sticks. This is a super easy craft that's perfect to do with kids, whether for 4th July, Memorial Day, or all year round.
DIY patriotic crafts
This post was transcribed by a member of the Hometalk editorial team from the original HometalkTV episode.
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Tools and materials:
- Sticks
- Saw
- Scrap wood
- Paint
- Hot glue
- Wooden stars
1. Gather sticks
To make a rustic flag, you will need to start by gathering sticks from your backyard or a nearby forest. Try to get ones that are about the same size and color.
2. Cut the sticks
Next, cut the sticks in all different sizes. Make sure the pieces are smaller than the width of your flag.
3. Grab some scrap wood
To create the backdrop for the flag you will need some scrap wood that measures about a foot and a half by 10 inches. I had a couple of scrap pieces of wood that were already put together that I didn’t use for another project so I used those for my flag.
4. Paint the background
Paint your flag background wood navy blue. I used Milk Paint because it soaks in beautifully to raw wood.
5. Lay the sticks across the wood
Next, lay your sticks down across the board. It's just like a giant puzzle; you just need to keep turning them around and playing with them until they fit together to cover the board.
6. Stick the sticks
Once you have the board covered the way you’d like it, lift up a piece and paint the back with some wood glue and stick it right back onto the board.
Do this one piece at a time so you remember how and where each piece goes.
7. Attach wooden stars
Now that all the sticks are stuck in place, it’s time to add some little wooden stars to finish off the flag.
Count out 50 small stars. I found it easiest to have them in a little cup ready to go.
Start the stars in the upper left corner.
If you find any gaps in your sticks, you can fill them with smaller ones so that you have a place to stick your stars.
Use a dab of hot glue on the back to hold each star in place.
After all the stars are in place, finish off your flag by removing any glue strings.
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DIY flag craft for 4th July
How beautiful is this rustic flag? It was so easy to put together and it's perfect to put on display during a patriotic holiday or simply leave up all year round.
For more rustic home decor projects and upcycling inspiration, visit Recreated Designs. Make a rustic checkerboard storage table to do with your flag here...
Resources for this project:
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Comments
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Hi, Wasn't sure I would like this look, I have seen so many to "match decor" and because I think our flag is beautiful as is, I see no reason to change it and how it looks. Yours however is beautiful and I did count the stars & stripes lol. I can see our ancestors making a flag such as this and putting it on their mantels or on a wall with the proper amount of stars. I can especially imagine the Betsy Ross flag in this iteration. I was thinking a VERY light wash of the red, white and blue colors on the bark but wondering how the bark would change the colors. Thank you so much for sharing your rendition. ❤️🇺🇸❤️
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Thank you so much for your kind words and I love the idea of a wash over the bark! What a great idea. I will have to try that for another project. Thanks again.
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Looks awesome! I love it! I love my flag and l love rustic things, makes it perfect!!
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Thanks so much Kathy!
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Very nice, but as Leslie stated, what would a light wash of red white and blue do? I really like you rustic, simple idea...Hope everyone had a wonderful, patriotic 4th!!