There are a world of fun patriotic crafts on the web to explore for you and the kiddos. When I was looking for ideas to add a twist to my current decor, I wanted to do something that wouldn’t take extra supplies, easy enough for kid involvement, and works with all of your current decorations. There are a few tea stain tutorials online but since I didn’t have any to spare, coffee was what was available in my house. So, I gave it a chance and love how they turned out! Here’s what you need to do that will only take a little cost and a tad of patience:
Remove flags from poles
The flags you select are important. I recommend the ones that come on the small plastic pole that can slide right off. The pack I found were 4 for $1.99 at Hobby Lobby in the patriotic section. Many others are hot glued to a wooden dowel that you can remove, but would need to be re-glued.
Prepare and soak
The mixture needed to soak the flags is very simple. Gather a small pot and fill with 2 cups of water. Then brew 3 cups of dark roast coffee and add to pot. The darker roast will yield a darker stain. Bring the mixture to a boil then turn off heat. Add your flags and set your timer. You can add multiple flags to the pot as long as you stir occasionally. Continue to stir and let them sit for around 90 minutes. If you remove and feel that the stain is not dark enough, leave them in for another 30 minutes.
Remove and dry
Once you are satisfied with the stain color, remove the flags and lay them out flat to dry for about an hour. You can set them outside to speed up the process (which during the summer in Texas only took few minutes!).
Once dry, your flags are ready to be placed back on the poles. I like how the stain makes the flags a little more stiff and not as droopy when standing upright!
This was probably the shortest tutorial I have ever written which means on the simplicity scale, this one is a success!
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