LOVEly DIY String Art

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String art is nothing new. I’ve been seeing it around for awhile and admiring it. It took me awhile to work up the courage to try it myself. Let me tell you, now that I’ve tried it, I’m hooked! This is possibly the easiest DIY project I’ve ever done!! Plus…it looks awesome hanging up in my home!

My grandmother passed away last year. As my dad and his siblings were going through all her stuff they came across some old photographs of my grandparents. There was one in particular that I loved and I decided to find a way to display it in my house. Around that same time, my cousin posted a project online of some string art she had done with her mom’s group in Colorado. It inspired me to combine string art with my attempt to display the picture of my grandparents.

This is what I came up with!

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For this project you will need:

  • 1×3 wood boards (or any piece of wood that suits your fancy)
  • Stain or paint
  • Nails
  • String
  • Picture
  • Picture frame

To create the wood board background, I rummaged through my scrap wood pile and used some leftover 1×3’s. I cut them down to size. For the front, I used five 1×3 boards at 11 inches long and arranged them horizontally across two vertical pieces. I nailed through the back to hold it all together. If you don’t have long enough nails on hand, some wood glue or E6000 glue will work also. Just make sure to let it dry sufficiently before moving on to the next step. I also chose to add a small piece of wood in the top center of the back so I could attach a picture hanger.

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If you want to bypass this step, you can find some cute pre-made pallet boards at Hobby Lobby!

Next I sanded and stained the wood. I used an electric sander but a good old piece of sandpaper and your hand will work just as well. A light sanding is all you need. Make sure to brush off all the dust afterward and then choose your favorite color of stain. I used a color called Kona but any color will do. I decided to paint the backside a similar color to my walls so it would blend in if someone viewed it from the side. You could also choose to paint the front of the wood instead.

After everything was dry I was ready to start the fun part of the project! I decided on the word “LOVE” for my project. I typed it out in Microsoft Word and printed it to the size I wanted. My word had to be broken out onto two pieces of paper to get it to the right size.

I laid the paper on top of my wood to figure out the placement and I used a piece of scotch tape to hold it in place temporarily.

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The next step, adding nails, can be a little bit tedious. Using my hammer , I placed nails outlining all the letters. I made sure to get a nail on all the corners of the letter so I had a good outline. I placed my nails fairly close together but you can choose how many nails you want to use. Just make sure that you get a good outline of each letter so it’s recognizable.

Once all the nails were in place, I got my string out! I used thread for my project but next time I may use embroidery floss. I do love the delicate look I ended up with by using the thread.

Using my string, I outlined each letter. To do this, I tied my string on the first nail and, moving around the perimeter of the letter, wrapping the string around each nail in the letter. This gave me a crisp outline. When all the letters were outlined, I carefully tore the paper off from underneath.

Next I went back to each letter to fill it in with string. I chose to do a random pattern connecting the nails with string across the letters until I was satisfied with how it looked.

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I put my picture inside a frame and then added a nail to the top of my board for the frame to hang on. Voila! A beautiful piece of artwork for my home! Bonus that I made it myself and it’s a wonderful memory of my grandparents that I get to see every day!

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This was a project I did on my own but it would be so easy to get your kids involved. You could choose to do this project on foam core board instead of wood, or you could use yarn instead of string. Let your imagination run wild!

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Krista Carpenter
My husband Jason and I met at church after we had already graduated from college and started on our own career paths. We were married in 2009 and settled down in Edmond, OK. I am mommy to our sons Gavin & Gage and daughter Greta They are crazy kids that keep me on my toes all the time! By day, I am an Oil & Gas accountant. By night, I’m a self-proclaimed DIY-er and am constantly changing things at my house. My husband and kids are good sports about this and usually roll with it when I up and change something without warning. I am excited to share some projects with you as well as share ideas and inspiration.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks Amy! I had a lot of fun with this project. I’m not sure of the exact year of the picture but it’s from the early 1950’s.

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