One Yard Wednesday - Patriotic Hoop Art

Some scraps, a hoop and a little paint - let's rock!

Made entirely from scraps in my stash, some acrylic paint, and a spare hoop.  I love the folk art vibe, and especially that it was super simple and basically FREE!

What you'll need:

• Red, white and blue acrylic paints - use the bottles that are on sale for less than $1, or what you have on hand.
• Wooden embroidery hoop - I used one I had on hand that fit the scrap of burlap I had in my stash.  Use whatever size works best for you.
• Burlap
• Scrap piece of denim
• Craft glue
• Sponge brush - I use the little 1" ones you can get 20/$1 because they come with a wonderful chisel edge and they are CHEAP!
• Newspaper and wax paper to protect your work surface

Start by painting the outside ring of the hoop navy blue.  Be sure to get the front edge as well as the side.  That chisel tip really comes in handy here.  Some hoops have a light finish on them.  Feel free to sand this off if you want more of a painted look.  I wanted mine to look like blue stain, so I only did one light coat of the navy blue paint right over the top of the finish.  I think it looks more vintage.  Rinse your brush THOROUGHLY for the next step.

While the hoop is drying, cut a circle of burlap to go into the hoop.  This circle should be a couple inches larger than the size of your hoop to allow for being pulled tight in the hoop when you frame it.  Make red stripes by using your brush as a guide.  Start by making one red horizontal stripe at the top, roughly the width of your brush.  To make the "white" stripe, use the width of your brush as a guide, and mark the top line of the next stripe.  It looks something like this:

Then, go across, following this line, making a stripe that is one brush-width wide.  Clean up your edges as needed.  They don't have to be perfect, but you don't want your stripes to be too wonky.

Repeat these two steps all the way down the circle.  Again, rinse that brush THOROUGHLY.  Now it's time to add the blue to Old Glory.

Use a scrap of denim and cut a quarter circle the same size as 1/4 of your burlap circle.  Apply some craft glue on the back of the denim, and place it in the upper left corner of your circle.  Be sure to attach the edges firmly.  If your denim has some fringe action like mine, don't let the fringe get caught in the glue.  Allow the glue to dry.

So our flag tribute wouldn't be complete without a star.  I drew a rough outline with a disappearing ink fabric marker, but if you feel really brave and artistic, you can just freehand it.  Make one star or a bunch - up to you.  The chisel point of the sponge brush really helps make crisp edges and sharp points.  Allow your paint to dry, and trim all the fabric from around the back edge of the frame.  Try to get as close to the hoop as possible, and display proudly!

Make a big one.  Make a bunch of small ones.  String them together to make a banner.  Tie some patriotic ribbon around the top to make a bow.  Don't have denim or burlap?  Use scraps you have on hand.  For example, you could use muslin, or old cream/white sheets to make the back ground.  Maybe a blue with tiny dots for the blue field instead of blue with a white star.

Have fun!