Seasonal – Summer/Outdoor Living
Make Outdoor Art Using Garden Flags
I’ve always been attracted to those garden flags that dollar stores sell but, although I have four of them, I’ve never displayed them outside. The reason is that the wind blows them around so much as to make it impossible to enjoy the designs.
This year, I determined to find a better way to use my garden flags. Here’s what I came up with.
Gather Your Supplies
You will need:
- a garden flag
- artist canvas or an old frame in the appropriate size to fit the flag
- a staple gun
- sawtooth picture hangers
The garden flag I’m using is one that I bought years ago. It’s fairly large as garden flags go being about 18 1/2 inches wide by 24 inches long. I removed and discarded the hanger that came with it. Iron or use a steamer to get any wrinkles out.
Choose a Frame
The large 16 x 20-inch canvases at Dollarama are a good size for use with this size of garden flag. Remove the canvas from the frame. You can leave the staples in, unless they’re sticking up.
If you don’t have a canvas in the appropriate size, you could use an old wood frame with the backing and glass removed.
Centre the Flag on the Frame
Centre your garden flag on the wood frame. turn it over and use a staple gun to attach the top of the flag in the centre of the frame. Add staples at each corner to finish securing the top of the flag.
Attach the Bottom of the Flag
Pull the flag taut and secure it to the bottom of the frame in the same way as you did the top. Then staple the sides of the flag to the frame, being sure to keep them as taut as possible.
Fold and Secure the Corners
Fold each corner to make them neat and add staples to secure them to the frame. Continue to add staples around the frame where needed to hold down the edges of the flag.
Tuck in Excess Fabric
I had some excess fabric at the top and bottom of the frame. You could trim it off with scissors or, as I did here, tuck it under at the back of the frame and staple on the top edge of the frame to secure it.
Add a Hanger
Lastly, add a hanger. I used a sawtooth hanger from a dollar store picture hanging kit.
Now you’ve got a pretty piece of garden art that can be enjoyed whether it’s windy or not. It’s an easy and very inexpensive way to help dress up a backyard fence, a front porch or a patio.
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