Creative Ways to Display the American Flag

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Whether your U.S. flag flies from a porch, fence, or doorway, it's easy to show your American pride with these festive flag displays.

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Flag Planter Display

Small flags of graduated sizes burst from a basket-weave planter in front of Martha's pool.
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Festive Porch Display

This porch displays red, white, and blue bunting (the fabric that flags are made from) that has been tacked to the eaves and tied with ribbon at the bottom. The trios of small flags are held up by aluminum brackets.
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Flag Doorframe Banner

A banner of flags surrounds the doorway (all with the blue canton properly placed in the upper-left corner), and 10 flags stand at attention on the swinging gate. To attach the flags to the gate, use a staple gun or drill holes in a piece of 2-by-2-inch lumber the diameter of the flag dowels, and tack it to the gate each spring or summer.
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Plywood Plaque Flag Display

Festive half-rounds of bunting, with grommets for hanging, sway from a cottage porch; above them, seven flags shoot out from their own flag holders, all attached to a simple plywood plaque.
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Flag Bicycle Decorations

Flags sewn to a length of ribbon encircle the basket of this bike. To decorate the wheels, tape two folds of white crepe paper together into one long piece, roll it up lengthwise, twist snugly, and weave through alternating spokes; make another long twist using blue paper, and then weave it through opposite alternating spokes. Repeat with white and red paper.
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A Festive Swag of Flags

Suspend a swag of flags from cotton clothesline over your porch, and then line the walkway with more flags.
Photography: Con Poulos

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Flag Incarnations

The American flag has had many faces in its long history. The flag at the top left from 1776 reflects the sentiments of our forefathers: The British Union Jack acknowledged the colonies' origins; the stripes, their emerging independence. The Flag Resolution of 1777 specified that there should be one star for each state but did not specify configuration, resulting in the flag at the top right. Each flagmaker arranged the stars to his or her liking. Two stars and stripes were added in 1795 in recognition of Vermont and Kentucky. This version inspired the Francis Scott Key poem that became our national anthem, displayed at the bottom left. In 1912, President William Taft approved the first detailed standards for flag proportions, shown at the bottom right. This flag, with 48 stars, was official until 1959 -- the longest-flying version.