Canvas American Flag Tape Resist
Creating a flag together with the kids, you end up with not only some sweet one on one time but a beautiful piece of art to hang on your walls. While ideally you want the focus to be on the process and not the final product this is one of those happy times when not only is it a fun project but you are left with a result that clearly looks like what you intended it to be. Even the littlest ones can get in on this art project.
You can use any size canvas you like but I would recommend 8×10 or larger, I l ike the big ones since it gives the kids more work area. I found a 2 pack of 16×20 canvas at Hobby Lobby for $7.99 so when you figure in the fact that its enough for 2 separate projects this is a great thrifty activity as everything else I was able to get from my craft supplies and the garage. This Canvas American Flag is perfect for President’s day, Flag day, 4th of July, or anytime you want to show your American Pride.
Canvas Flag Tape Resist
Supplies Needed:
- 16×20 canvas
- Red, blue, and white acrylic paint
- painters tape
- paintbrushes
- Alpha stickers
- optional- clear coat spray
Directions:
Start by measuring your canvas, you are going to need to mark off a rectangle a little less than 1/3 the width and slightly less than half the height of canvas for your stars,13 lines for the 13 stripes. If you are are using a 16×20 mark off lines slightly larger than 1 1 ¼ “.
Tape off your rectangle, I like to cover mine entirely so my excited little artists don’t over paint with the red, then run painters tape from one side to the other, wrapping slightly over the back, be sure to press it in firmly to give crisp paint lines. I used 1” painters tape so I used one width with another piece overlapping a little bit.
Instead of bothering with a plate for paint I just squirted it right on the canvas and let the kids go crazy, they absolutely loved painting all over the canvas. After you finish the red stripes, allow your canvas to dry for several hours. Remove the tape from your rectangle and allow the kids to paint with the blue and allow it to dry for a few hours.
Using the end of a pencil, or paintbrush dip in white paint, I did assist the kids with this part, guiding there hand to “stamp” most of the stars, helping them count to 50.
Now for the lettering, if you use small enough letters you can put the entire pledge of allegiance on your flag, my stickers were too big to fit it all so I chose a phrase to highlight. You can also write out “One Nation Under God” or any other patriotic message. Simply press stickers onto canvas, spelling out whatever phrase you choose.
I am sure you have seen the canvas’ where they put the letters down prior to painting and when it dries you peel them up. I have tried that a few times with not so good results, the paint inevitably runs under the letters, making some of them barely legible. Since this was the kids project (mostly) and I have budding readers in the house I wanted each word to be crisp and clear so I opted to just put the stickers on and leave them there.
To seal your painting and keep the letters secure spray entire canvas with a couple coats of clear coat spray. In the end, your canvas American flag will look like this.
