Rustic Red White And Blue Wood Flag With Iron Bell And Stars

Make a Patriotic sign using a reclaimed piece of wood. Hand paint a red white and blue flag on the wood and add a rustic iron bell to the flag. Use cast iron star head nails as the finishing touch. This sign is so unique and fun. Everyone will love it.

I came up with the idea while trying to find a piece of wood for hanging the bell. I found the wood and was going to paint it white but why go so bland. Let’s paint a flag. It was easy. I can’t do decorative painting but I can paint a blue block and rough looking red and white stripes. No measuring anything.

I gathered all my supplies; reclaimed wood, three paint colors ( red, white, and blue) for the flag, and paint brushes.

I started with the blue and just painted a blue block about a fourth of the way down the piece of wood.

Next I started with the white stripes and just free handed those too. No measuring.

The photo above shows how the flag to be looked after painting the blue block for the stars and the white stripes.

The bold orange links in this post have details on similar projects or supplies used in the project so just click the links. Also check out the MORE TUTORIALS FOR YOU section at the end of this post! 

You can see the stripes and the blue area do not have even margins. Just paint and don’t worry about perfection. I think the flag turned out perfect and it took me about 10 minutes to paint the flag. Really.

The piece of wood already had two holes on the top end on either side. That made it easy to add a wire hanger. Just twist the two ends of the wire on the front side to keep the wire from slipping back through the hole. I use wire hangers all of the time on my rustic signs. If there are no holes for the wire hanger I drill a couple using my battery powered drill.

Next I nailed the star nails to the blue block on the flag. I don’t know what kind of wood this is but it is very very hard. I couldn’t nail the stars all the way through the wood. I started to grab my drill and drill starter holes for the nails but I decided they actually looked good raised and not flat against the wood. (find the star nails on Amazon here or on eBay)

Next comes the best part…..the iron bell. I got it at my favorite junk shop. It was a little damaged but that’s okay.

I applied Howard’s Wax, neutral color, over the bell and hanger to preserve the rust and also to keep the rust from coming off on my hands. Once the coat of wax was dry I shined it up with a lint free rag. (find the wax on Amazon here)

The hanger for the bell had two openings for screws and I drilled small starter holes in the wood and screwed the bell to the rustic looking red white and blue American flag.

The little dinger thing in the bell was missing so I found a small white iron thing that I think was part of a window pully in the old windows to use as the dinger.

The ring for the dinger was still in the top inside of the bell and I attached the dinger thing using a short piece of thin wire. I like the piece I chose for the dinger because of the chippy white paint.

I love my American flag display! What do you think? Do you have a piece of wood you can use to paint a flag? I’ve painted flags using Frogtape painter’s tape to make the lines nice and neat if you prefer that look. You don’t need a bell and you can use small wood stars from the craft store instead of iron stars. Or make the stars out of fabric.

I made a Farmhouse style flag with neutral colors. Watch the video below…..

Leave a note if you have time and thanks for being here, Kathy

Kathy Owen

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Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Kathy’s newest website is HappyHomeDIY.com