Patriotic Postage Stamp Flag Plaque Tutorial

This patriotic flag wall plaque made from patriotic postage stamps is a wonderful decoration for the 4th of July holiday, Memorial Day or Labor Day.  Make one yourself from recycled postage stamps with our tutorial.

We were challenged by a friend to make a craft with flag postage stamps.  Our friend donated to us hundreds of stamps and many were patriotic or flags.  The result was this patriotic flag plaque!  

If you are interested in other patriotic craft decorations, look at the end of this article for other ideas.  Learn how to decoupage many other items such as frames and boxes.

Learn more about Patriotic Postage Stamp Flag Plaque by watching our video below or keep reading this post for step by step instructions.

INSTRUCTIONS :

STEP 1: PICK OUT POSTAGE STAMPS

This project is a wonderful way to recycle old postage stamps into something new.  From the collection of postage stamps, decide which will be used for this project.  I used all patriotic themed stamps but any postage stamps can be used. 

For the star field, the dark-colored stamps with fireworks and a flag seemed to be a perfect choice.

For the stripes, flag or other patriotic stamps were a good choice.  Sort the stamps into the same types so they can be put in rows.  Flag stamps with more red in them were used for the red strips and more white colored stamps were used for the white stripes.

Make sure you have the correct number of stripes for the flag.  The USA flag has 13 stripes with a red stripe at the top and bottom.

I had all of my stamps lined up and ready to go before starting the project.

STEP 2: STAR FIELD

Start by applying the stamps to the star field area.  The mod podge is used as a glue to affix the stamps to the plaque.  Apply mod podge to the plaque in the star field area.

Next, carefully place the stamps in rows.  I used five rows with six stamps in each row for the star field.  Overlap the stamps slightly to completely cover the plaque. If your plaque has grooves in it, bend the stamps into the groove.

Apply mod podge over the stamps to make sure they will stay in place.

STEP 3: STRIPES

The stripes will be created next.  To make sure you can fit all of the stripes onto the plaque, place the first stamp for each stripe in place with the mod podge as shown below.

Continue to work across the rows from top to bottom by applying mod podge to an area and then carefully placing the stamps into the rows.  Overlap the stamps slightly.  Put mod podge under all of the overlapped stamps.

If corners of the stamps are sticking up, apply more mod podge to get them to stick down completely.

The finished stripes are below.  I used mostly the same or related stamps in each row.  As you can see, there are rows with all Liberty bells, all flags of a specific type, and a row with patriotic hat, stars, and USA which go together.

STEP 4: ADD RED TISSUE PAPER

The flag stamps with more red in them do not seem to make the red stripes stand out from the white ones enough.  To make them more prominent, cut pieces of tissue paper about one inch wide.

To make a more straight edge on the tissue paper, fold up the edges about 1/8" along the long sides.  This is optional.  Put some mod podge across the stamps in the red stripe row and then place the tissue paper on top.  Press it down gently.  

Trim any extra tissue paper hanging off the end of the plaque.

Next, paint mod podge over the top of the tissue paper to affix it to the plaque.

Here is a closeup of what it looks like with the tissue paper applied.  You can see the stamps through the tissue paper.

STEP 5: ADD STARS TO STAR FIELD

Finally, add some stars to the star field area.  This is optional as you may like to just see the stamps.  I decided to put the shimmery stars on the plaque.  The stars had sticky backs so peel them and place them on the star field.

The USA flag has nine offset horizontal rows of stars.  The first and last row has six stars.  The rows alternate between six and five stars in each row.

After placing the stars on the plaque, carefully paint mod podge over the stars to adhere them securely.

Leave the project to dry for several hours or overnight.  The project is complete.

I really love how this patriotic flag plaque turned out and think it's a really unique decoration for July 4th and Memorial Day. 

MORE PATRIOTIC CRAFT TUTORIALS BELOW

• Patriotic Door Wreath Tutorial
• Patriotic Flag Coaster Tutorial
• DIY Farmhouse Patriotic Garland
• Patriotic Fold 'n Stitch Wreath
• Patriotic Star Garland