So my son and I went to Lowes and bought plywood, wood slats, glue and then picked out an old fashioned red and a blue, and had the paint guy mix up some paint samples for me.
"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?"
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?"
Plywood, slats, paint. The red was called "Flag" and the blue was called "Star Spangled." I love the "old timey" look of it:
"Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?"
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?"
My hero, cutting out a star for me. It may not be a perfect star, but it's a star made with love:
"And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."
As an alternative, most craft stores (Michael's and Hobby Lobby, etc.) sell precut wooden stars!
White star and stripes:
"Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"
Red stripes. The paint looked like maroon to me when it was wet. It better dry red!
"On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,"
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,"
Blue background:
"What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?"
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?"
All the pieces are painted. Now to glue everything together:
"Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream"
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream"
I used "Liquid Nails" for the glue:
"'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
Here she is!
"And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,"
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,"
Place the flag under two bags of charcoal (for weight) for 30 mins to let glue set:
"A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution."
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution."
Staple on some ribbon, and hang on the front door:
"No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave"
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave"
And VOILA!
"And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
"Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall standBetween their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
"The Star Spangled Banner"
By Francis Scott Key, 1814
That song makes me tear up everytime.
Happy 4th of July! Or Memorial Day! Or Veteran's Day! Or Flag Day!
