DIY American Flag made from Dip-dyed Coffee Filter Flowers – plus 5 more Sensational Patriot Projects from the DecoArt Core Bloggers!

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Hi guys! Today I have a much anticipated (in my  mind) project to share with you.  And, not just my project, but a total of 6 Sensational Patriot Projects from the DecoArt Core Bloggers!

I’m so privileged to be a part of this amazingly talented group, and I’m certain you are going to be inspired by all the fun, 4th of July DIYs.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

If you have been here before, you might have seen my Heart Shaped Coffee Filter Wreath.  I made it a while ago, and I’ve been itching to do something else with these BEAUTIFUL flowers.

So, I had this crazy idea to jump out of the box and, instead of making a wreath, make an American Flag.  Holy smokes.  What do you think?  I’m trying so hard to be all cool about this, but I’m crazy over how it turned out!

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

 

How to make this DIY American Flag from Coffee Filter Flowers

First, you’ll need some stuff:

Pop over to this post on How to Make Beautiful Coffee Filter Flowers for the full low down.  Here are some new tips:

For this wreath, I decided to dip-dye the filters instead of immersion dyeing them. I wanted the color to be much more saturated, just to make sure the red stripes didn’t come out pink like the Heart Wreath.  So I started out making the flowers from white coffee filters.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

If you dye them after you make them, you can gather a pile and cut as many at one time as your trusty scissors can handle.   I divided each stack into about thirds and that worked well.

I also just used one coffee filter for each flower in this project.  In the heart wreath, I used two per flower.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Once you have all your flowers made, it’s time to dye them.

Again, here is the post with the directions to make the flowers.

For the 20″ x 30″ white board, I calculated up how many of each color I needed by laying them across and down the board.  Here’s a diagram of how it worked out for me:

flag-grid

  • Blue – 49
  • Red – 77
  • White – 69

That comes out to a total of 195 flowers.  Make some extra for testing the colors.

But  you might want to try it out before you start dyeing and glueing them down to see if your flowers are bigger or smaller.  You might need more or you might need fewer.

How to Dip-Dye the filters

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Grab a plastic bowl and squirt some paint in.  Don’t worry about exact measurements.  I didn’t, and it was fine.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Then fill it with a cup or so of water and stir well.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Test to see if it’s the right depth of color.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

If you are happy, then start dyeing them! Otherwise add more paint or water depending on how saturated you want the color.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

To dry them, just line some trays with paper towels and gently place them upside-down to drip dry.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers
DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Before they dry completely, remove the paper towels and flip the flowers right-side up.  At this point, you need to start separating the “petals’ a little so they don’t stick together and make your life miserable.  Trust me.  This step is important! They pull apart so much easier when they are still a little damp.

If you forget to separate the red ones, grab your iron and steam them a little. That will help. #gottaloveexperience

Once dried, you can start placing them on your board and hot glueing them down.  This actually goes rather quickly.

Start by placing the top row of flowers and the left side.  Spread them out evenly and then glue them down so they can be your guides.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

If you want to get very specific, you can measure and mark this all out. I’m in more of the “this looks about right” camp.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

So pretty, right?

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

I’ll totally keep this for next year. I just love these coffee filter flowers!

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

Oh, I just realized you are getting  a sneak peak of my newly painted foyer and piano!  I’ve got more plans for this space, so stay tuned!

If you want, you can see the Pear Green “before” here.

DIY American Flag made from Dip Dyed Coffee Filter Flowers

What’s the next holiday again?  Maybe another coffee filter flower project will appear!

Now, go check out all the other amazing DecoArt Core Bloggers and their Patriotic Projects down below.  Just click on the image and you’ll be magically transported to their post!


 

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9 Comments

  1. Gwen, this is so creative! What a cool idea and it would make a great backdrop of 4th of July photos. Pinning!

    1. Thank you SO much, Michele! It took some time, but it was worth it, I think! 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Cindy! I’m so glad you popped over from Keri’s!

      Happy Friday!

  2. Pingback: Creativity Unleashed Week 76 - Plus, Enter to Win a Chalky Finish Prize Pack from DecoArt!

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