With Canada Day around the corner, now is a great time to use up scrap bits and make a wood Canadian flag to decorate inside or outside your home.
There were a lot of likes and comments on my scrap wood mosaic post the other day (thank you so much!), one of which suggested that I use the same technique and make a wood Canadian flag sign.
I have made a wooden Canadian flag in the past, but with a more random layout, so I was only too happy to try another version to see how it ‘wood’ turn out. lol
I started with the same 3″ by 1 ½” pieces of wood with a parallel 45° angle on either end.
In fact, the whole layout is exactly the same as the wood mosaic post from the other day; chamfered edges and all.
I did glue and nail the parts to a piece of ¼” scrap plywood so that the maple leaf would hold together during cutting. You can see it below in the side profile of the maple leaf.
Where I changed things up was in printing a maple leaf outline on a piece of 8 ½”x 11″ printer paper, cutting it out, and then laying it over my scrap wood pieces so it was centred.
From there I used my WORX BladeRunner and cut out the shape. (Amazon affiliate link – for full affiliate disclosure, please see sidebar or bottom of the page)
To stay consistent with the inner chamfered edges, I sanded the outer edges of the maple leaf to give a beveled edge around the outside. I cut 1 ½” by ¾” pieces of wood to the height of the maple leave and again, chamfered the edges to make the red banding on my wood Canadian flag.
I found a piece of scrap ply and cut it down to fit the wood bars. After a good sanding with 120 grit sandpaper, I then primed it.
Three coats of paint on the plywood and bars and then they were attached with wood glue and 1″ brad nails shot through the back of the Canadian flag.
The maple leaf was stained with Rust-Oleum Aged Wood Accelerator, which shows darker on the maple wood versus the spruce pieces, giving it a beautiful gradiated look.
It’s so striking with the vibrant red against the black fence!
What I had originally planned to do was paint each section of the maple leaf in different colours to represent different religions, political affiliations, sexual preferences etc to show how we all come together and are all parts of a whole in Canada. Unfortunately, there are more colours that would need to be represented (to include everyone), than there were wood pieces to my maple leaf.
I think the separated pieces of wood coming together to form a complete maple leaf still relay the same ideal I was hoping for.
This wood Canadian flag will be a gift to the brilliant mind that suggested it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be making another for myself as well.
There’s still time to whip out your own before Canada Day on July 1st – or some variation of it to represent a country that you’re proud of!
Have a great one!