Hello there! I’m happy to be here to do a guest post for Allison as she is taking some time off to spend with that precious little angel! Congrats Allison, I sure hope you’re enjoying this special time!
I’m Gail from My Repurposed Life. It’s a pleasure to meet A Glimpse Inside friends! My Repurposed Life is your daily does of inspiration, tutorials and giveaways. Learn to DIY on a budget by transforming secondhand finds.
Today, I’m going to show you how to make this Americana Flag from an old privacy fence I reclaimed.
My friend was going to take this fence down and asked if I wanted it. Of course I did, I rarely turn down free stuff!
I chose some great pieces for this project. I measured and marked the pieces at 36 inches.
I cut my fence boards on my compound miter saw. However you could use a handsaw or a jigsaw.
I gathered my paint and tools. I used Folk Art by Plaid. I love these cheap “chip” brushes for quick paint projects where you don’t want full coverage.
I laid my boards out.
Using the Folk Art paint and a little water, I used the chip brush to apply the watered down paint . . . .
. . . to every other board. You’ll notice that some of the boards are very faded, and almost white, those are the ones I decided to use for the white stripe.
Watering the paint down allows it to soak into the boards, for a more weathered look.
I did the same thing with the white paint.
I measure the height of the flag to get the support boards.
I cut three more pieces of the old fence for the back of the flag. Because this fence is aged already, I drill a pilot hole so the screws won’t split the boards.
I drilled the screws into each and every board.
You can see I spaced the three brace boards out on the back of the flag.
I made my blue portion of the flag 12×12.
I used the same technique, using the paint watered down, applying it with the chip brush.
I located a pattern online for a large star. I printed it out, then cut it out with scissors. If you don’t have a printer, you can actually lay a piece of paper right on your computer monitor and carefully trace it with a pencil.
I used the watered down white paint, and the chip brush to “stencil” the star onto the blue paint.
Voila! One great Americana Flag!
I drilled two small holes in the top and threaded some wire through, and then curled the ends to hold the wire onto the flag.
I hope you liked this quick tutorial. My Repurposed Life is all about tutorials. I do a full tutorial on each and every project I show on My Repurposed Life.
Thank you Allison for letting me guest post today! I hope you all have a very safe and fun 4th of July next week. You have just enough time to make your own flag!
-Gail
That looks fabulous Gail!
Thanks for sharing!

Hello, I'm Allison! I am an Army wife and momma to two little girls. I've got a creative side and I love to craft, do DIY projects with my husband, paint, and I occasional get my bake on too. Join me on my journey and take a glimpse inside our military adventures, my creative endeavors and our everyday life. :)
gail@My Repurposed Life
June 27, 2012 at 12:16 pmI put this flag in my booth, and it's already gone. I donated it to a local cause for a silent auction. 🙂
Thanks again Allison for having me over!
gail
I Play Outside The Box
June 27, 2012 at 12:49 pmI love this piece of art!!!! Gail is such a talented lady!!! Off to check out your blog and other guest posts!
gail@My Repurposed Life
June 28, 2012 at 2:27 amthanks so much! I can always count on you to brighten my day with a sweet comment!
gail
Toqua's Crafts
June 27, 2012 at 4:31 pmBeautiful Gail… as usual!
gail@My Repurposed Life
June 28, 2012 at 2:27 amJust as I told Doris… I can always count on you guys. You're so sweet!
gail
lauren @ West Furniture Revival
June 28, 2012 at 2:46 amlove the flag post! It turned out wonderful, great repurposing!