String art: DIY!

I finally made my string art after about...oh, a month or so of slowly working on it.  I'm very excited and I want to share it with you.

Do you like it?  It was frustrating and fun to make (that makes no sense, but I'll explain later)

I found this great cabinet door at the reuse store downtown.  Sidenote: that store is insane.  You can buy anything from old paint cans, doors, windows, shelves, tools, etc.  It's awesome!

I also bought some nice gray paint (that was only $2 at the reuse store and was entirely FULL!).

After sanding it down and painting a couple coats on the door I started on the actual project.


The first thing to do is print out whatever name you want.  I stuck with our last name. I tried to find a nice blocky font to use so that way it wouldn't require a million nails and would be pleasing to the eyes.  Arial Black is a great font on most computers that works for this.

I cut out the letters so they were spaced the way I wanted them to be and taped them down.  I used a cheap scotch tape I found (I tested it first to make sure it wouldn't peel off the paint).

Now the real fun begins. Haha!

I found some nice small nails with big enough heads to hold the thread down and outlined each letter with the nails.  I didn't want to have a lot of nails on each letter or around the corners (it would just get annoying) so I used my judgement and just went with it.

Many frustrated words were said and two thumbs were hurt in this part of the creation.  (If you do it, you may see where I'm coming from)

After they're all outlined and straightened out I could either tear off the paper or outline the letters first.  (For some of the letters *like the S* it was easier to keep the paper on and use that as my model to make sure I was outlining it right).

To outline the letters I took the thread I wanted (I chose some cross stitching floss) and wrapped it around the nail heads a few times and just went around the letter.  I went around once the first time and decided that I wanted it to look a little thicker/bolder so I went around again.

The next part wasn't too stressful because I had to improvise and create a zigzag effect with the thread.  It was pretty fun to decide which nail needed to go to which nail.

And that's it!  I'm pretty pleased with it and super excited to hang it up! 

I hope you enjoyed that little tutorial and if you make one - share it with me!

Fill in the Blanks Friday

Life has been crazy.  When is it not these days?  First off, one of my good friends just had a baby (YAY!) and second, my best friend is now pregnant!  It's super exciting :)

Also, I am in the process of switching jobs so that is always crazy and exciting.

But on to bigger and better things!   Like... Fill in the Blank Friday with Lauren!

1.  When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is,   go to the bathroom, use it, and then brush my teeth.  Yucky morning breath .

2.   I can hardly wait for   a new job and summer.  I want to go outside, be adventuring and hanging out with my husband  .

3.  The quickest way to my heart is     ice cream (I had to copy Lauren) or a super sweet drink (like a frappuchino)       because     it really is the best picker-upper.  It's just...so...good!

4. A little known fact about me is that     I am a sucker for cheesy TV shows.  My current addictions include Secret Life of the American Teenager (very cheesy, I know, but I watched it from the very beginning and kind of need to finish it and see what happens to everybody!), Grey's Anatomy (not so cheesy, but very dramatic, again, watched from the beginning and got drawn in).  I wouldn't call The Office cheesy, but I do sometimes watch The Biggest Loser, and those cheesy wedding shows like Say Yes to the Dress and Bridezillas (THAT show..sheesh!).

5. The best part about my job is    getting to hang out with kids.  Seriously, they rock and while some of them may be little terrors, they are all sweethearts deep down.

6. Something I just couldn't live without is    my phone.  It's not a smart phone, but I use it a lot during the day.  I love being able to be in contact with so many people.

7.  Something useful that I wish I knew how to do is   really cook or getting easily motivated/pumped up.  My husband is very good at throwing things together for a meal, but me...not so much.  Also, I lack a little in the getting myself pumped department.  I wish I was better at it.

Come link up!  What's in your blanks this Friday?