SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
- Wood cutouts
- Acrylic paint - red, white, blue, metallic gold - 2 oz, 1 each
- Artist’s brushes
- Palette
- Water bowl
- Painters tape
- Pencil
- Ruler
DIRECTIONS:
- Base coat wood surfaces with white. This will brighten layers of color paint.
- Determine placement of colors. For areas with red and white stripes and areas that will remain white, add a second coat of white paint.
- For the framed USA map, transfer the maps of Alaska and Hawaii. Align the template with the cutout map border and the frame. Apply a blue wash of paint over the map areas. Stir a few drops of paint into a small bowl of water. Test the wash on the back of the panel. Lighter is always better. Additional coats may be added for more saturated color. Work quickly over the map, a few states at a time. Work wet to wet to avoid overlap marks in the wash. Let dry.
- For horizontal stripes, measure entire height, divide by the number of stripes. Consider uneven numbers of stripes so the same color of stripe is on the top and the bottom of the area. Place light pencil lines to indicate edges of stripes. Mask off area that will not be painted with painters tape. Press edges of tape well prior to painting.
- Paint frame blue. Let dry. Add a gold band of paint around the edges of the maps. Draw a light pencil line 1/8" outside the perimeter of the maps as a guide for painting. Use template to add stars to corners of frame. Paint stars with gold paint.
JOANN HACKS:
- Add a favorite patriotic word to the top right corner of the striped area around the USA map. Paint with gold paint.
- For intricate cutout shapes, paint the background first continuing the color up the sides of the cutout. Paint only the top surface of the cutout with a contrast color.
- Add small stars to states visited using a fine tip gold paint marker.