Land of the Free, Because of the Brave

In honor of this Memorial Day, I thought I would share a sign I made a few years back for a craft show.  (Back when my skills were a little more rudimentary.)  But I still love the message.

I had planned on making a number of these to sell for the show so I bought a slab of lumber at one of the home improvement stores and had them cut the wood into 11 X 24 inch rectangles.  (I don't remember how many I made but it seemed like quite a lot at the time.)

I measured off the area for the stars and then drew wavy lines to suggest that the flag was blowing in the wind for the stripes.  ( I drew it freehand --can you tell?)  I painted the red, white and blue areas first then used a star shaped foam stamp to make the stars.  For the phrase, "Land of the free. because of the brave."  I used a stamping set and stamped each letter individually directly on top of the paint.

When everything was dry, I applied Minwax stain to the front and back.  One thing I wish I would have done differently was to sand down the sign after I painted it.  I think it would have looked a bit better with a worn, distressed look.

"Land of The Free, Because of The Brave" currently resides in my laundry room.  You will notice that I photographed it outside because there is no natural light in our laundry area.  It is a small, dim space that brings to mind more of a Hobbit's hovel than a place for fresh laundry.  (It is currently on the room makeover list, though and is patiently awaiting it's transformation to awesomeness.)

Have a fun and meaningful Memorial Day!

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