DIY: Vintage Patriotic Bunting

I have a short list of patriotic crafts and recipes that I’ve wanted to make since Christmas. Today, I’m making a DIY: Vintage Patriotic Bunting, but I have to share a short story with you before we get started. I looked everywhere for the perfect vintage patriotic card stock. I finally found it on amazon.com for $37.99. I thought it was too expensive, but I bought it anyway. it was perfect, I thought. It arrived earlier this week, and I was stoked about making the bunting. This morning while I was at Hobby Lobby, I found the same card stock for $19.99 plus 50% off (today only)! I actually searched the Hobby Lobby website for this paper before I ordered it, because I knew if any store sold patriotic themed card stock it would be them. I found nothing online, hence the amazon.com order. I fumed all the way home! Lesson learned. Drive to a store and look for yourself. Hobby Lobby is less than a mile from my house.

DIY: Vintage Patriotic Bunting Tutorial

Disclaimer: You should know that some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  This means that if you click on a link and buy the product or service, I will receive a very small commission of the sales price at no extra cost to you. I use all of the products and services  listed in this post routinely, and I trust the companies that make them.

Before you get started, you’ll need to decide on a word for your banner. You will need one flag and one circle for each letter in your word. Here’s a short list of words to consider: freedom, liberty, united, under god, USA, old glory, stars & stripes, land of the free, home of the brave, under God, one nation, independence, America, honor, courage, and justice for all. There are certainly more words that can be added to the list, but these are the words I considered for my DIY: Vintage Patriotic Bunting. If you use two or more words, make sure you place a flag (without circle and letter) between the words.

MATERIALS

• 7 sheets vintage patriotic themed card stock, 12 x 12″, single sided
• 1 sheet of contrast card stock, 12 x 12″
• Martha Stewart Vintage Crafts® Paint in Linen
• Americana Decor® Stencil 12 x 12″- Distressed Alpha
• jute or twine, about 72-inches

Note: I used Vintage Nation by Photo Studio themed card stock. I bought it on amazon.com, but it’s available in Hobby Lobby for much less.

SUPPLIES

• glue gun
• Martha Stewart Crafts® Foam Pouncers
• Martha Stewart Crafts® Simple Circle Cutter
• rotary cutter
• cutting mat
• pencil
• ruler
• single hole punch

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: To make the bunting, select the number of card stock sheets needed for each letter in the word you picked for your banner. I picked the word FREEDOM, so I needed 7 sheets of card stock. If you want to make this project cheaper, you can measure and cut two flags from each sheet of card stock. Turn each sheet over.  Measure and mark the flag: 7 inches wide and 9 inches long (from the center of the top down to the tip). Repeat for each sheet. Cut out the flags on the mat with the rotary cutter.

STEP 2: Using the circle cutter, cut out a 3 1/2-inch circle for each letter in the word you picked for your banner.

STEP 3: Place the stencil of each letter on a circle and paint by dipping small pouncer in paint and dabbing on stencil.

STEP 4: Add glue to the back of each circle and place in the center of each flag.

STEP 5: Punch a hole in each corner (7-inch side). String together with jute or twine by inserting the jute through the hole on the right front side of a flag then enter the left hole from the back. This will keep the jute behind the flags.