a found & foraged flag

you know, i love decorating with red white and blue
just as much as the next patriotic American... but... 

what if i don't want to use red and blue in my home, 

and want to stick with white + warm neutrals?

well... i found a way to do exactly that, and still have a focus on the flag for the Fourth of July!

i was cleaning out the garage (which may just be a summer-long project, i tell you...)

and found a bunch of materials left over
from when i closed the homewardFOUND shop last March.

when i looked at the weathered white fence pickets,
and the blue-ish zinc metal scraps, i saw a flag.

 so i got busy assembling it on the workbench...
and that metal in the top photo isn't what you think it is!

...continue reading to see how i made my own faux zinc!

this project really wasn't hard to make...

for the 'stripes', i just nailed these vintage painted fence pickets to some scrap wood supports. 

 i had originally planned to attach the vintage zinc metal scrap to the pickets,
in the upper left corner.

but the metal piece was too big - and i REALLY did NOT want to cut it. 

i have another project in mind for it. so, there went plan A. 

on to plan B: finding something else to use instead.

my eye spied a clipboard on my workbench. the size wasn't perfect, but it was ok.

but it was my DAD's clipboard, from his warehouse. and it was wood, not metal.

and i really did not want to paint it. but what IF, i thought...

 what IF i could cover it with something that i could paint now and take off later.

something like... aluminum foil!

so i wrapped the back of the clipboard in heavy-duty aluminum foil,

and used some of my fave faux painting techniques to get the effect of weathered, aged zinc metal...

basically, my technique for this effect is a lot of thin coats of spray paint.

a few medium coats of Krylon hammered finish silver, then a spray of flat black paint - in a 'mist'.

then, a heavy spray of bleach mixed with water, 'till it's dripping on the surface,

followed immediately by a heavy spray of hammered silver.

the bleach and water cause the oil-base paint to separate, or 'ciss', and form a pattern similar to zinc.

let dry, then spray the black in a light mist -

followed by a heavier application of black with more pressure, to result in bigger 'drips' of paint.

one final very light mist of hammered silver finishes it off. 

this builds up the pattern in varied layers, looking more realistic. 

when dry, i took a bunch of the vintage soda bottle cap charms i found, and taped them onto the foil to represent the stars on our flag.

the clipboard really is just CLIPPED onto the wood! (the clip faces backward, as shown here)
this will make it very easy to remove after i am done decorating with the flag for the summer

and am ready to turn the picket fence background into something new...

because i change things up so much, i try to keep permanent alterations to a minimum.

PS: check out this post to see how i turned a ladder into an easel to display this artwork!

i love the look of the flag in neutral tones, and this kind of 'beachy' style.
(of course, it fits industrial rustic and farmhouse style, too!)

nice to know we don't have to just go along with what the stores offer as home decor -
we can decorate our homes OUR way, every season of the year!
  

mostly, i am really happy that i was able to make use of items i found in my garage...

the more i can get outta' there, the faster i'll get it cleaned up! (wink).

shared online:

creatively beth | creative crafts linky party #99

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #433

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna!