Wood, nails and string... who knew those three ingredients, in just about every garage, can produce such lovely art? While digging around in my hubby's off cuts in the garage I found hours of fun creating an art project that I'm proud to display.
All you need is a piece of wood... weathered, scrap, fine wood, pallet wood, slabs off a fallen tree... anything goes. Sand it down and either varnish it if it's gorgeous, or stain, paint, distress and finish. I had pine off cuts and stained it mahogany after sanding. Then I varnished it.
While it was drying, I sketched out the word I wanted. After playing around with the font and look, I made sure it was the right size for my project. My 'forever' was free hand written, but you could easily write out your word on your computer and print it out in the correct size on plain printer paper. You could then trace it onto tracing paper, which is thinner, but that's not totally necessary, as long as your paper isn't too thick. I copied my word onto tracing paper, which is easy to tear.
I make little dots along my word, which are evenly spaced, so I know I won't suddenly run out of room with my nails. A thumb-width it perfect and you won't need a tape measure.
It helps to stick your word onto your wood with some masking tape, to prevent it from moving, while you work.
Take your 1 7/8th inch nails and hammer them through your paper into the wood. Try to hammer them evenly, but it's not a train smash if they're a little off in height. You can always tap them in more at the end.
Once you're done, you can tear off your paper. Use tweezers, if some gets stuck under a nail.
Choose whatever string you want and tie the end on the first nail. Make sure it's well-knotted. Then loop your string from nail to nail in a random pattern until you have it shaded enough to stand out. Make sure you use enough tension, so the loops don't come off. At the end, tie the string off in a tight knot.
I use clear nail polish to seal off the knots so they don't unravel.
Now all that's left is to display your beautiful piece and enjoy!
Create. Enjoy. Repeat.
xxx
Three & me
