Tropical Texana: TROPICAL TEXANA TURNS 4: HOW TO MAKE ART OUT OF AN OLD FENCE

I guess after 4 years of writing a garden blog called Tropical TEXANA, it seems appropriate that I should finally add some Texana art to the premises.

Besides gardening, I love to paint and I love old wood. I make my own art each summer.

Here's how you can make flags out of old fence boards. First, cover the board with paper and old mini-blinds to get a feel for the finished product.

Next, paint the blue fields of color. To get that old rustic feel, you lightly dab on the paint.

Try not to cover all the wood textures since they add personality.

Next, line up the mini-blinds and paint the red stripes.

Hold down the plastic strips to prevent slippage.

On both the American and Texan flags, the red symbolizes bravery (some would even go further and say that it symbolizes the blood given for our precious freedoms).

http://blog.cvsflags.com/flag-history/what-do-the-colors-of-the-american-flag-mean

Next we paint the stars. I don't make all 50 since this is a piece of art from the past.

Notice that I mark the location of each star, then add details.

This flag has 28 stars which just so happens to be the flag flown in 1846 when Texas joined the Union.

I scratch paint the points with a knife blade since brushes won't work on the heavy wood grain.

I'll tell you a great little secret. To make star templates,cut plastic squares from gallon milk jugs.

This type of plastic is flexible and thin enough to cut with an exacto knife.

You can also use the plastic to trace on a computer screen without any problems.

Here's the finished Texas flag with its rustic lone star.

And here's the collection of wooden flags and symbols I completed out of one fence board.

I'm using them to decorate a wall on our garden shed. This is a wonderful garden shed that was built by my dad many years ago. It's a beautiful building. Thanks dad!