Patriotic Nautical Flags + Patriotic Painting Projects

My patriotic decorating often takes on a nautical feel.

All that red, white and blue puts me in the mood for flag waving, fireworks and seafaring!

Stars and stripes meet sand and surf in this easy patriotic project that’s great for July 4th or all summer long!

I’m sharing a tutorial for how to make these patriotic nautical flags as part of a July 4th blog hop with my fellow DecoArt Core bloggers. Be sure you check out their awesome projects at the end of this post.

Supplies

To make these flags you will need:

• 11X14 artist’s canvas
• DecoArt Americana paint in Ultra Deep Blue
• DecoArt Americana paint in Primary Red
• Painter’s tape
• foam paint brush
• assorted seashells and starfish
• hot glue

I can’t completely take credit for this idea. The last time I was visiting my mom, she was painting and embellishing a bunch of these red-and-white striped canvases for our antique store booth.

I loved the idea so much that I decided to riff on it and make an American flag version.

I think mom’s version and mine are both pretty awesome!

Instructions

Begin by masking off the flag’s stripes and star field using painter’s tape. Press the edges firmly to prevent any paint seepage.

Paint the star field blue, brushing in one direction. You may need to do several coats.

Remove tape on the right edge of the blue square and allow to dry completely. Then, mask off the area and paint the red stripes.

Again, be sure to brush in only one direction to prevent paint seepage. Remove tape and allow to dry completely.

Collect some small shells and hot glue them to the blue area of your flag, in place of stars.

Be careful that you don’t puncture the canvas with any of the sharp edges of your shells.

I used some natural shells and some of the gilded shells I made as my stars, alternating gold and natural.

You could also use a large starfish, like my mom did, or a cluster of small shells in a circle, like the early flag.

Sand dollars would also look good.

And there are so many different things you could do to make this project your own, like changing the size or placement of the stripes or using different colors.

I salute your creavity! If you make your own patriotic nautical artwork, I’d love for you to share a photo of yours.

Don’t miss these other patriotic painting projects.

Sensational Patriotic Projects from the DecoArt Core Bloggers