I have been back in the USA for almost a year and yet I have not done a patriotic project. Oh I have a flag or two in the house. But with the Fourth of July coming up I felt it was time to create some unique patriotic art for us to enjoy.
DIY Patriotic Art Idea
Today I am sharing with you how to make easy patriotic art with fabric scraps. Because the flag looks great outside, but we shouldn’t neglect the interior of our homes.
I wanted to make a special flag of my own but with a twist. I thought I’d re-purpose the item you see below. It was a shelf from an old fridge we had. You can use anything with holes in it if you don’t have leftover refrigerator parts.
What I Used to Make this 4th of July Decor:
- wire rack left over from fridge
- various fabric pieces cut into strips
- needle and thread
- hot glue (optional)
It is also good if you have a little helper. Tatou settled into the fabric, to help smooth it out.
How to Make this Upcycled Patriotic Art:
This was a super easy project to do, although it was a bit tedious. In fact you can even watch TV while working on this project. This time I watched Grand Designs about people who like to torture themselves by trying to build the perfect home on an inadequate budget.
I just folded the strips any which way and then weaved them through the wire, like you see below. I then tucked the loose ends behind the wire. Or you can also hot glue them behind.
Looks good right?
Actually I made a horrible mistake (I guess those perfect houses really went over the budget) and added all that white where there should have been blue.
At this point I thought I could either do the whole thing in blue and then add bits of white for the stars. Or I could cheat and use one of these fabrics which contain both colors.
I got my daughter to decide for me, the one of the love for all things blue…
…and she chose the stripe. I wove it in such a way, so the white parts would not be in the same position across.
This way it looks like there are random white spots. You know, a bit like the fifty stars.
Oh I know it’s not perfect but art is not mean to be either!
There is another mistake, can you spot it?
I may have the right number of stripes but the bottom full stripes should have been two less. Oh well, turns out that TV show was way too good to stop in order to count the stripes.
Anyway, if you don’t mind, then I won’t tell!
For my non-American friends, the flag has 13 stripes which represent the 13 colonies that declared independence from England, and the 50 stars represent the 50 states.
I’ve got it on the wall now and every time I glance at it I stop! It looks like a Pop Art sort of piece. It sort of reminds me of Andy Warhol’s soup cans… it must be that bright red color!
It really does look good next to the white chair!
All in all, I recommend not watching such a riveting show like the one I was watching while making your upcycled patriotic art. Less mistakes for you and more art for everyone to see. Now I’m off to see the rest of the episodes, this time with no craft project in hand!
I hope you have enjoyed my easy patriotic art with fabric scraps. Do you decorate the inside of your home for the Fourth of July or just the outside?
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Look at you! DANG! That looks so cool and you used a refrigerator rack! WHAT???? Love it, love it, love it. Hugs and blessings, Cinduy
Thanks so much Cindy, now I can celebrate in style!
Looks great! You are so creative.
Thank you so much Carol!
Mary, I love this project. I saw a bunch of these racks at the thrift store the other day I wonder if they are still there? I’m sure I have some old shirts laying around too!
It is the easiest project Lorin and you can even use metal grills.
I think your scrappy flag is very nice, after all, our ancestors were a scrappy bunch, weren’t they? I have a 20′ flagpole near our driveway. I also have the flag given at my father’s funeral at The National Cemetery on Cape Cod. It is folded and in a wood & glass triangle case. Below that, I worked with a custom framer to create a tribute. With two photos of my father, one in his dress uniform, and one in his “fly boy” outfit. Between the photos is the letter from the President that goes out to all veteran’s families when a veteran passes away. But what was very nice, is that the framer made a shallow shadow box where she mounted all my father’s medals. He was a fighter pilot in WWII.
That is such a wonderful way to commemorate your father Josephine. You must be very proud of him and all that he has contributed to this great country!
Mary, love this project. It turned out great, even with your little boo-boos which no one should have noticed. I love using things you already own to make something new and pretty or useful. Pinned to 3 boards.
Thank you so much Carol. It is always more satisfying when you can make something with what you have already.
How fabulous looking and eco-friendly. Great idea!
That’s my favorite word Nancy, eco-friendly!
Mary I would never have noticed the “mistakes” if you had not said anything! This is a cool project. You could probably make and sell something like this on Etsy- people love pop art! Wave it proudly on the 4th!
Michele I should have kept my mouth shut in the first place. Wishing you a great Fourth of July!
Very nice project.
Thanks so much Clearissa!
You are a true crafting genius! I love this. And who doesn’t have some old underwear hanging around just waiting to be cut up?! 😉
I have some! Get away from me with those scissors, I’m wearing them!
Hah! Those boxer shorts had never been worn they just took up space.
Seriously girl, who looks at an old fridge rack and says, “I see a flag”? Our very creative friend, Mary, that’s who! There ya go with the fabric scraps again too. I tell ya, you always amaze me with your recycled fabric ideas! This is AWESOME 🙂
Check out the ToTT party next week, you may see this in the features 😉
Lollol. The art is great and I love your sense of humour!
You’d better turn off the tv when you’re crafting! Lollol. No way could you make the Aussie flag without concentrating. Ask those Chinese folk that make most of them for us!
Haha! You are so right Cath! I need to turn off that TV!
This is a great upcycle. What mistakes? I didn’t see any.
Haha! Thanks Debra, I shouldn’t have noticed them either, I was so wrapped up in that TV show.
THIS IS AMAZING!
ONE OF THE BEST RE-PURPOSED ITEMS I HAVE EVER SEEN
AS WELL ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE FLAGS
Thank you so much Sandra!
Mary you are so clever to use fabric strips and this is so pretty! Being a non american I didn’t even notice about the stars or stripes, to me it looks perfect as it is. We are in Football World Cup fever over here, so the occasional flag comes out as well as, haha 😉
Oh Katrin I used to watch the World Cup also with my husband. But now we are so busy with other things. My dad still watches it though, and tells me who is winning.
Great project!
Thank you so much Virginia!
Mary, it looks amazing and you are truly so crafty to see a flag in those supplies. Fabulous eye and imagination!
I had a mission to use up that rack. It had been siting in my room for months!
Mary, this turned out amazing! Before I clicked through I was looking at the image and thinking to myself, “What DID she use to make that???” When I actually saw, I was very surprised and I love that surprise factor! This is probably one of my favorite projects I have seen you do <3
Thank you so much Marissa. I am always trying to use up all the stuff I have at home. Sometimes it works and sometimes I end up with a hot mess.
LOVE this idea!
Thank you Joy!
Very clever idea!
Thanks so much Carol. Now I am wondering what was I doing with that rack in the first place.
Such a cute and creative idea! Turned out just darling! Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thank you so much Jann. It was my first patriotic project and I am so proud of it.
what a fantastic project!! Love it!! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the inspiration!!
Hugs,
Deb
Thank you so much Debbie, I know your home is all decked out in the red white and blue!
That’s such a clever repurpose idea Mary. Only you would see a flag in a refrigerator rack. Love how it turned out
I am now wondering what I was doing with a spare refrigerator rack in the first place! 😉
Very clever, Mary! And loads of fun!
Jeanie I had loads of fun making it, especially since I wasn’t paying attention.
Mary you are so creative! This turned out great and I had NO idea that it was a refrigerator shelf!
🙂 gwingal
Hah! I fooled you! I had to get rid of that thing!
I love this idea. It looks so easy to make and I love the shabby chic look! Thanks for sharing at the Make Life Pretty Monday link party!
Thank you Kate, it was a fun project.
What a smart idea! I love how your flag turned out and it’s a beautiful piece of decor perfect for 4th of July! Thanks for sharing your tutorial with us at Merry Monday this week!
I am all ready to celebrate Marie!
Beautiful idea for the upcoming 4th of July and for every patriotic holiday in the future, Mary!!! Love love love this! Okay, pinned, going to put on my Facebook because this is sooo cute!
Great project,
Hugs,
Barb 🙂
Thank you so much Barb! I am already to celebrate, bring on the barbecue grill!
How clever, Mary! I don’t craft too much any more, but this is an idea even I could enjoy. Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend? You will be a feature next Monday!
Wishes for tasty dishes,
Linda
Thank you so much for the feature Linda.
A fantastic piece of art using just an old refrigerator shelf! I’m impressed! This is quite clever Mary! And the blue woven in looks great too. You know, since it’s “Art,” you don’t need to worry about whether it has enough stars or not, LOL.
Florence, the states will feel cheated if I don’t have all of them on there. :O
Mary…this turned out so adorable! It is so funny, because I actually have some of these extra fridge shelves cluttering up my garage. You are so clever, my friend!
Now you too can have your own Pop Refrigerator Art Erica! 😉
This is the most creative idea! I’m going to have to keep my eye out for an old refrigerator rack 🙂
I hope you find one. If not a wire grid will also do the trick.
Mary, that is the most creative flag I’ve seen yet! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm–pinned!
Thank you so much Cecilia.
You constantly amaze me with what you think of for what most of us think of as junk!
I can’t think of anyone else who would see an old rack like this and think “I know what I’ll do with that. I’ll make a flag!”
Amazing!
It must be my absentmindedness when I am watching all your great shows on the Telly! 😉
I think it turned out perfectly! I love the shabby look of it while still holding onto the feel of the flag. It feels sort of like a rag rug. And, I love that your materials were all upcycled! Great job!
Thank you so much. I am always looking to upcycle things I have around the house. I got lucky with this one.
Wow! I just LOVE this project! When I first saw the blue portion in one of the first photos I thought “how clever of her to use a blue and white fabric to mimic the stars on a blue field”. I like to refer to those rare moments in my crafting as “I meant to do that” or a “happy accident”.
Miss Kitty it was no accident. I may have made many accidents along the way like the stripes but this one was calculated to look like the stars. I even pulled the stripes so they would not line up where the white parts were. Thank you for your sweet comment.
Love this flag, Mary!
I can’t see anything wrong with the stripes ~ there are 13 and the reds are in the right spots. 🙂 This would be a fun project to do with kids in a classroom or at home, too.
Happy summer,
Barb 🙂
Thank you Barbara! I was worried I got them wrong.
I love Patriotic projects and this is so cool and very clever way of repurposing and old refrigerator rack. ❤
I am so glad I got to reuse that old thing.
You really do have a knack for making something out of nothing! I have some long wire shelves– so if I don’t reuse them in the shed, maybe I will turn them into art! Thanks for the idea! And thanks for sharing at Best of the Weekend. I’ll be featuring you tomorrow.k
Liberty @ B4andAfters.com
Thank you Liberty. I am glad I was able to inspire you.