Halloween String Art

Hello again, long time no blog!  I just realized when I got on here to post this, that I last posted about string art too. What is this, a string art blog?  No, but it sure is fun! lol!  I really wanted to share this one with you and I needed to hurry since Halloween is on Monday!

Maybe you've noticed, maybe not, but we haven't done anything for our blog and I haven't blogged either.  We've been encountering a giant life change in our family.  My honey is now working about 5 1/2 hours away from our home.  We up and moved to where he's working and we are currently living in an RV.  This is ok for a weekend or so, but full time in a tiny space is very hard to adjust to. I could go on and on about this experience in its own blog post, but for today I have more string art for you.

You can see my very first string art project HERE and it has all the details and how-to there.  I'll admit that the ladies who do this to make money are very patient and most of all, very talented.  This is a fun craft, but a bit tedious too.  Pick your poison as they say!

I used pallet wood for these, this one is a 6 x 6 piece.  I used an off white to paint the entire piece of wood after I sanded it smooth.  I used my Cricut for this face pattern, but you can find all kinds of faces on the internet as you'll see down below.  I just used black acrylic paint and a tiny paint brush to add the face.  Next is the nail placement.

Lastly is the string.  I used embroidery floss that I find at Walmart.  There are so many colors and shades, you're sure to find what you need.

These cute faces and the B shape are some I googled and printed out, then traced to my pieces of board.  I didn't paint these boards, I just smoothed them out with the hand sander, pounded in my nails and strung the string.

You can add lots of string or a little like I did here.  Each way gives you a totally different look too.

These happy jack-o-lantern faces make me smile!  Who knew pallet wood could be so cute?

For this one I painted the board black and then used the sander to distress it.  TIP: Be sure to use a slightly damp rag to wipe off all the excess dust before beginning your string art.

For the bat, I painted the board, distressed it and then added a moon for more spookiness!

I think they are all cute and not too spooky, maybe just a little, naaaah!!  Have you made any string art projects? Leave me a link, I'd like to see yours too please!

See more of my string art projects here:

String Art with Mason Jar Vase
Doggie Paw String Art Memorial
Flamingo I posted on Instagram

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch

Paw Print String Art - A Memorial

I hope its not too soon for another string art project. lol!  Remember my first one HERE?  So this is my second try and I made this one for my sister.  Her sweet little dog Prissy passed away and I wanted to make her a little something to remember her by.  She loved her so much.

I included a little plate stand with it because it couldn't stand on its own and I didn't figure she'd want to hang it, but I suppose you could hang it up if you wanted to do so.

So, you will need a piece of board sanded smooth, paint for the board and the name (I used black for the name), paw pattern, small nails and string, oh and a small hammer of course.

I painted my board with acrylic paint in the color Warm Buff.  I gave it two thin coats for a pretty good coverage.  Let that dry really well.

I found the paw print just by searching Google.  You can tell by the pic above that I recycled my paper to resize it to fit my board.  I used my Cricut machine and some vinyl to make a stencil for her name.  Using black paint, I painted the name on first but I have the paw print on there for positioning purposes.

When adding paint to the stencil, use a dry brush technique.  This helps to keep from getting too much paint on there which causes it to seep under the vinyl and go where you don't want it to go.  Also, a dabbing or pouncing motion works better that actual swiping back and forth.  Just an FYI because I learned by trial and error.

Now for the nail holes.  Notice, I said NAIL HOLES.  You want to make the holes all the way around your pattern first, then add all the nails AFTER you remove the pattern.  I learned this trick the first time around! lol!  You can save your pattern and use it over and over again.

Again, if you've been following me for a while, you know I have to distress everything.  I used sand paper to distress the name and the rotary sander to distress the edges.  You don't have to do this of course, it is optional.

Now using a small hammer, tap your nails in each hole you previously made.  Try and make them all the same height, I'm still not good at that yet.

Lastly, add the string of your color choice.  I chose pink just because.  There really is no rhyme or reason to how I add the string, I just go for it, its art.  When I tie off an end I use a tiny bit of liquid-y, fast drying craft glue (Diamond Glaze) to seal the knots and keep them from accidentally coming loose.  That would be bad. :)

For more string art projects go here:

Halloween String Art
String Art with Mason Jar Vase
Doggie Paw String Art Memorial
Flamingo I posted on Instagram

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch

String Art with a Mason Jar Vase

Happy Mother's Day!

String Art, its a very interesting craft to me and I've always wanted to try it.  I decided to finally have a go and this is my very first try at it.  It's not perfect but I like how it turned out.  I want to make more now! lol!

I made this little creation for my Mama for Mother's Day.  She loves purple, so nine times out of ten, I'm going to use purple if I make her something.  She also loves hummingbirds, so that's why I chose the hummingbird for my string art.

You will need the following items to re-create my project:
A piece of wood cut to 8 1/2" x 8 1/2", sanded smooth
String art pattern of your choice
1 box of 1" 15oz nails
Hammer
Sand paper (very fine like 220)
2 shades of purple paint
Foam paint brush
Painters and washi tape
Vinyl for words (Cutting machine to cut out words)
1 bundle of purple embroidery floss
1 bundle of green embroidery floss
Crocheted Daisy with leaves
1 Mason jar
1 hose clamp large enough to fit your jar neck

I painted my board with two coats of Lilac Mist acrylic paint.  I let that dry well and then lightly sanded it to distress.

As I said, this was my first time to try this art so I just went to Pinterest and read a few posts that I could find that described how string art was done and went from there.  I did not find any that was step by step detailed.  This is trial and error for sure, you'll see, keep reading!

I found my pattern by Google-ing hummingbird pattern.  Here I taped on the pattern with washi tape and laid the jar down for placement.

Now to hammer the nails in using the pattern.  I found it did not work on carpet, so I went outside to the patio and that gave me a very sturdy base to hammer against.

You will want the nails close, but not too close to each other.  I found that if they are really close, its hard to get your fingers and the embroidery floss going all around as you need to.

Here I have all the nails in.

NOTE:  DO NOT do this!  I discovered that if you just tap the nail in to make a hole and then remove it all the way around your pattern and then take the pattern away, THEN hammer in the nails into each hole,  its LOTS easier.  Trust me, getting the paper pattern off with all the nails in it is NOT easy and then you've ruined your cute little pattern you could have re-used!

Ok, so here's the actual string art part of it.  I made a slip knot and slipped it around the first nail and then started down the trail wrapping the string around each nail as I went.  I made the straight line of the string on the outside and then back again on the inside.  This made the outline first.  Later I went back and did the back and forth zig zags to fill in the center.  NOTE: After I tied my very last knot, I added a bit of clear craft glue to the knot so it would be sure to hold and not come loose.

After lots of work, I got the paper pattern removed.  Next was attaching the metal hose clamp.  Sorry I couldn't take pictures of this step, but it was attached using a wood screw.  Be sure to check for placement with your jar before adding the clamp.

Now to stencil on the word "hello".  I used my Cricut machine and the Alphalicious cartridge to cut out "hello" using vinyl.

I used a darker purple paint called Purple Pansy for the word.  I took my sponge brush and with very little paint on the tip of the brush, I tapped lightly until the word was covered.  It was almost like dry brushing.  The less paint the better because otherwise your paint will seep under the vinyl where you don't want it and your letter will look distorted and there will not be crisp clean lines. I learned that lesson a long time ago.

Now here is where I thought the word looked too low down and I had lots of blank space to fill, so I added the little flower.  See, more trial and error LOL!  I'm a card maker, not a string art designer. Haha!  This is a whole different process of creation!  I had the little crocheted flower and leaves in my stash.  I added a few more nails in a curved line to create a stem for the flower, then added the flower and leaves by using a bit of craft glue to hold them.

I like how it turned out for my very first try at string art.  Practice, practice, practice.....right?  All that matters is my Mama liked it and thought I did good, so its good!

More String Art at the links below:

Halloween String Art
String Art with Mason Jar Vase
Doggie Paw String Art Memorial
Flamingo I posted on Instagram

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch