Nail string art

I've seen these projects all over pinterest for a while now and finally got around to trying it out for myself. I spent nothing on this project because I used what I had on hand and used coupons on the items I did need. If you have to go out and purchase everything, you might spend around $15.

We have a stack of old barnwood from a chicken shed my husband tore down on the place where I grew up. If you don't have barnwood, pick up a free pallet. They're advertised on Craigslist all the time or you can call the stores directly.

The board was 8' long so we cut it into 4- 2' pieces.

Buy one of these to connect the boards together.

Or cut some wood in thin pieces to use as brackets.

Clean it up. I probably should have used the power washer, but I didn't feel like dragging it out.

I added a whitewash, but you can leave as is, paint a solid color, or stain the wood. To make a cheap and easy whitewash, simply add one or two parts water to one part paint.

Wipe the excess off right away. Very important if you want a natural look.

Love, love, love old barnwood. So much character!

Print off whatever design you want to make. I looked up a map of Nebraska, streched it out when I copied and pasted it, and printed it on two 8.5x14 sheets (one half on one sheet, the other half on the second sheet). I then taped the sheets together in order to have a slightly larger map.

Any nails are fine. You don't want them too thick or long though...

Cut a spacer (or use something on hand) rather than measuring between each nail. It will save you a ton of time! Plus, I was able to see how far down each needed to be nailed based on the height of the spacer.

I wanted to nail around the N, but it just wasn't working. I've seen people do hearts and other objects. I think the N was too small and trying to squeeze those nails in just looked funny. I ended up pulling them out.

Tear it up. It should come up really easily.

You may need to straighten some nails out.

Time for the string! I used crochet thread from JoAnn's Fabric.

Start by tying the end around a nail. Then start going around nails in whatever fashion you choose. There is no rhyme or reason to this. Anything goes!

Don't cut the string until you're completely finished. Then tie the end around a nail.

Do you think it's hung too high? My husband and I had a big debate on how high to hang it. I think it needs to be about 5" lower. Thoughts? (P.S. take my side!)

This project took me a couple hours max. If you're not into the state design, consider a monogram, name, team logo, etc.!

If you simply want to buy one rather than make one, check out Skotch Designs (shout out to an old friend who started this company). They even sell some product in the Pixi Chix store!