Easy Primitive Style Flags with Coffee Stain
Give store bought flags a primitive, grungy look with coffee stain. This is an easy and inexpensive project to create vintage style flags with an aged appearance.
Any other vintage lovers out there? How about primitive?
True, authentic vintage items can cost a pretty penny! These primitive style flags use inexpensive supplies, take just minutes to make, and will add wonderful, grungy primitive style to your patriotic decor! Read on for the supplies list, coffee stain recipe and instructions.
How to make easy primitive style flags with coffee stain
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What if I told you that you could turn those bright white, mass-produced mini flags into authentic looking primitives in just a few short minutes? It really is that easy and the secret is coffee stain.
What is coffee stain
I'm sure you've heard of staining items with tea leaves. Well, coffee stain is
similar but even easier! The bonus is a wonderful smell and true grungy
appearance to anything you want to give an aged appearance to! I've used this
coffee stain recipe to grunge a
printable sign,
make primitive style hardware apron flower pockets and create
vintage style labeled bottles with faux rusty lids.
I first came across this coffee stain recipe from
Tracey at My Sweet Home Living. Tracey is a true primitive-loving kindred spirit! She calls her recipe
coffee grunge. I've added a couple simple tweaks, which I'll share below.
Coffee stain recipe
To a glass jar with lid, add the following:
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1/4 cup instant coffee granules
- 1 Tbsp vanilla*
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon*
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice ( pumpkin pie spice will work too!)*
Shake or stir ingredients. Store in fridge (will keep for months). When ready
to use, mix well (the cinnamon will not dissolve and has a tendency to clump).
You may want to heat in microwave for 10 seconds to soften the cinnamon if
it's very clumpy. Recipe can easily be doubled.
*don't use your good spices or vanilla; dollar store or discount store
products are best!
The combination of the coffee with vanilla and spices gives this stain not
only an amazing smell, but the spices add a primitive, grungy, rusted look to
your DIY projects and crafts!
What else can you do with coffee stain?
- Mix it with acrylic paint to deepen the look and give a bright color more of an old-world, primitive tone (I'll be sharing this technique on a brand new project very soon!)
- Make your own decoupage medium by mixing a little coffee stain in a jar with regular white school glue
- Add a primitive and aged appearance to fabric, paper, wood, paint, etc!
Supplies you'll need for primitive flags
- mini flags*
- jar of coffee stain
- additional cinnamon if desired
- cookie sheet
- wax paper
- foam brush
- dark furniture paste wax (or stain or even watered down brown acrylic paint)
*look for flags with wood sticks; flags themselves need to be cotton or a
cotton/poly blend as polyester alone won't accept the stain
Here's a peek at the before and after to show you how the coffee stain will
transform the brightness of the store-bought flags, give them a primitive look
and gentle waves.
Steps to coffee stain mini flags
Step 1 - Prepare cookie sheet
Lay out a piece of wax paper or parchment paper onto one or two cookie
sheets.
Step 2 - Heat oven
Preheat oven to 175° or as low as your oven will go
Step 3 - Add flag to coffee stain
Twirl a flag around its flagpole and insert into jar of coffee stain. Swish it
to cover the entire flag and let it sit for a minute or two.
Step 4 - Add waves
Remove flag from jar, using fingers to press out excess moisture. Lay wet flag
on prepared pan and using your fingers, create a couple of gentle waves in the
flags. If you want extra grungy looking flags, sprinkle a little more cinnamon
(or even coffee crystals) onto the wet flags.
Keep in mind that the coffee stain will lighten as it dries. If you feel it's
not as primitive as you'd like, add the flag back to the coffee stain for a
little longer.
Step 5 - Bake
Bake flags for about 5 minutes or until dry, flipping over halfway. Baking
isn't necessary, you could let them air dry, but it does help to stiffen the
fabric so the waves hold their shape.
Step 6 - Stain flagpoles
When flags are dry, use a foam brush to apply a little bit of dark wax or
stain to the flagpole.
Add your primitive style flags to a jar of buttons, rusty tin or wherever you
choose to use them.
I love how the coffee stain and baking the flags in the oven helps them to
hold their shape, it makes them much easier to display!
The cinnamon adds a faux rusty or grungy look, which you can really highlight
if you like that extreme primitive look. Just add more while the flags are
wet!
I hope you love this easy tutorial! Be sure to tag me @diybeautify on
Instagram or share your primitive flags with me. This project is part of my
brand new Patriotic Series - sign up
HERE to get my new projects right in your inbox!
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bringing beauty to the ordinary,
I REALLY like this! I already have a jar of your stain in the fridge and some flags stashed away, so, as you can imagine, I will be making these right away! Thank you for the great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea Cindy! Love the primitive look of your flags!
ReplyDeleteThank you Michelle, I love how the coffee stain softens the bright white and the waves help them stay put!
DeleteLOVE the antiqued vibe of your American flags! And your recipe is super easy too!
ReplyDeleteThank you Donna!
Delete