The flag looks great on a deck or
patio.

• 10 x 18-inch piece of metal flashing
• Old scissors
• Small tin punch and hammer
• Aleene's Enhancers: All-Purpose Primer #EN 104, Matte Varnish #EN 107, Satin Varnish #EN102, and Clear Gel Medium #EN 105
• Aleene's Premium-Coat Acrylic Paint: Black #176 (BK), Burnt Umber #185 (BU), Electric Blue #218 (EB), Gold #301 (GD), True Red #103 (TR), and White #173 (WH)
• Brushes: flat and spatter brush or old toothbrush
• Soft cloth
• "One heart...one mind" precut stencil: Primitive Star #STE 105
• Aleene's Platinum Bond Industrial-Strength Adhesive #7800
• 20-gauge black wire
• Wire cutters
• Needle-nose pliers
• 21-1/2-inch length of 5/8-inch-diameter wooden dowel
• 2 finials to fit the dowel ends
• Aleene's Professional Wood Glue
• Drill and 1/8-inch bit
• 1 yard of jute

1. From the metal flashing, use old scissors to cut a 10 x 16-inch rectangle for the flag; set aside the 2 x 10-inch scrap for the stars. For the star background, cut a 5 x 4-inch rectangle from the upper left corner of the flag rectangle. Cut the remaining part of the flag rectangle into five 2-inch-wide stripes.

2. Use the tin punch and the hammer to make holes in the stripes and stars background. Align the holes in pairs on adjacent metal pieces. Apply one coat of primer to the front and back of each metal piece; let the primer dry.

3. Using a flat brush, base-coat the metal pieces, applying a second coat as needed for complete coverage. Base-coat the 5 x 4-inch star background EB. Paint the top, middle, and bottom stripes TR. Paint the two remaining stripes and the scrap piece WH. Let the paint dry thoroughly. Apply one coat of matte-finish varnish to all painted surfaces; let the varnish dry.

4. For an aged look, mix Clear Gel Medium and BU, following the manufacturer's instructions. Use a soft cloth to rub the gel/paint mixture onto the metal pieces. Wipe away any undesired medium, and let the medium dry.

5. Using the stencil as a pattern, trace approximately 10 stars in a variety of sizes onto the WH scrap piece. Cut out the stars, and adhere them to the EB background with adhesive.

6. Arrange the metal pieces on a flat surface. Dilute BK with water to ink consistency. Dip a spatter brush or an old toothbrush into the thinned paint, and lightly spatter (flyspeck) the fronts of all pieces. Let the paint dry. Apply one coat of satin-finish varnish to all surfaces.

7. Use the wire cutters to cut sixteen 4-inch lengths of 20-gauge black wire. To assemble the flag, thread the wire ends, front to back, through a pair of holes in adjacent metal pieces. Twist together the wire ends in the back, and curl the ends with the needle-nose pliers.

8. Use GD to base-coat the outer surfaces of the finials and the dowel (leave the ends unpainted). Glue the finials to the ends of the dowel with woodworker's glue. Drill holes through the dowel 1/2-inch from each finial. Thread each end of the jute through a hole in the dowel, and tie knots in the ends; adjust the length of the jute as desired.

9. To hang the flag on the dowel, cut three 6-inch lengths of black wire. Thread a wire through each of the three holes along the top edge of the flag. Bend the wires around the dowel, and twist the ends together. Use the needle-nose pliers to curl the wire ends. Slightly bend the metal flag pieces to resemble a flag blowing in the wind.