Make an American Flag for your Door

All Americans love their flag. It is displayed proudly in many front yards. There are the days when everyone breaks out a flag, flag shirt, flag flower arrangements, and flag wreaths.

Americans fly their flags on Memorial Day, Flag Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day, Veterans Days, and can be a daily symbol of our country.

A wooden stylized flag is a great addition to a front door or a back yard fence and exhibit your patriotism.

With some basic tools, basic math, and a little imagination, a stylized flag will reflect your own creativity. Option for design can vary and reflect the individual touch. Making a few sketches will lead to a unique design that will impress your neighbors and friends.

• There are a number of good star patterns on the Internet. Many can be found on Teacher Sites or children's drawing sites. Or, a good artist can designed an acceptable heart. Just remember the designs that filled notebooks in school.

Start with something simple and work up to more elaborate flags or door decorations. The wooden door ornaments will be longer lasting than a flower wreath that often doesn't last more than a season or two.

Tools

• Electric jigsaw with large toothed wood cutting blade.
• A good yardstick (98cents in big box stores)
• Pencils and a big square eraser
• Sandpaper (medium grit) (100 or 150). A palm sander will also speed things up.
• Frog tape. The size depends on what size stripes you want. Use the type that is rated to give you a clean, tight edge.
• Razor knife to trim or cut tape.

Materials

• 2’ x 2’ x ¼” board
• Red, Blue and White exterior paint. The brightest red and white, and the truest blue. Use sample cans.

After deciding on the design, use either a premade template or cut your own.

• These are the steps that went in making the design at the beginning of the article

Making/Drawing the upper "shoulder" of the heart.

• Find the "V" between the Left and Right shoulder.

Measure 3" down from /along the center line (Y axis). Mark this spot.

• 1st inch to left of Y axis

Measure up from X axis 9 7/8." Put a dot here.

• Make the next inch line again measure from X axis 10 3/4- mark it.
• The next line is 11 1/8 then 11 1/4, 11, 10 3/8, you should have 6 lines.

• The measurement from the 0,0 intersection up to the"V" is 8 7/8

If you are feeling confused, make a heart template from construction paper. This one is from a woodworkers' perspective. Children often can make some outstanding heart designs and may be a way to include families in the process.

Once the final lines are drawn, cut out the heart. Practice with the jigsaw if this is a new tool for you.

Painting the heart.

Note: The rougher the wood, the more "bleeding." So, sand well.

1. One option is to paint the entire heart white (front, back, and, edges)
2. Once dry, lightly sand the front of your board.
3. Then continue to paint after using a good painter's tape to mark off the design.
4. After you have painted each section, and cleaned up any bleeding problems,
5. Finally protect with vanish. This will help to protect your flag from the weather.

There are many ways to make a flag design your own.

• Try different shapes
• Try a rustic approach with individual planks for stripes

Just remember to have fun and make a unique flag for your enjoyment. It also makes a nice gift for friends and family.