Craftin' Some String Art With Tweens!

by Jenny

 

(UPDATE: this blog has changed from itsahodgepodgelifeforus to jennybrook journeys...still same info but if you notice some conflicting labels, that's why. Thanks for stopping by!)

 

Coming up with a fun craft for a group of kids to do and that still looks okay hanging on the wall can prove to be harder than you think... 

 My husband Gregg, and I wanted some art to hang on the wall in the room that we were working on for our new tween group at church called J12. Our tweens at church needed a group specially for them, not youth group, not children's church but something just for them. For their unique stage of life. Gosh, I could probably write a book on all the information I've learned recently about tweens, their influence and their struggles...

We were so happy to help design a group for them, find some awesome passionate people to also work with them, and make a special room they'd love too! I decided to give the string art that I'd seen all over Pinterest a try. We wanted three pieces of art to hang along side corkboard squares on a wood background Gregg was going to install. We decided on a "J", a "12", and a cross. I read a lot of the tutorials and tried to learn from their mistakes. I still bought the wrong nails. You definitely need ones that are long so that they come up about an inch or so above the board after being nailed in. They also need a flat head so that the string doesn't slide off. I got caught up in a nail with a large flat head that when I attempted to nail it in, it was probably almost three inches too tall! After we got the right size nails, picked a font I was happy with (that took forever because I have a font addiction...) and prepped the boards we were ready to start.

 

Supplies:

 

1 1x12x36 board that we cut into 3 12x12s

box of 8d 2-1/2" finishing nails

an enlarged letter of your choice printed

stain (optional)

embroidery thread

 1. Tape the letter in place on the board. Start your first nail in one of the corners and be careful to space them evenly. Plan for about 30-45 minutes per board. There a number of ways you could get the letter on the board- you could cut the letter out, then tape it on. That would eliminate some of the small remnants of paper. You could use a dull pencil to trace the letter over the paper then follow the dent to nail (except I didn't want to see the line). But I chose to do the quickest and leave the paper whole.

2. Remove the paper and use tweezers to remove any small pieces of paper. Great job for the kids!

 

3. Tie one color of embroidery thread on a corner of the letter and start winding around. Being careful the keep it within the shape.I learned that some of the kids went winding happy while I turned my head and the cross turned into a diamond but no fear, it was easy to undo and fix. They layered on multiple colors and had a blast!

4. Tie off the embroidery thread when you're satisfied with the piece and that's it!

 

 

I really want to make some for myself at home now! They were fun and easy!

 

 

This is Gregg installing the boards onto the 1x1s that he screwed into the walls. He used wood paneling that came in a 10 pack of 8 foot boards. He cut them down into various lengths and stained them different colors.