This fall when I was visiting my mom at her place in Nipawin I made a stop in at Twisted Tree. It is one of my favorite places. It is full of housewares, clothing, purses, and some pretty cool art. While I was there I saw this tiny little 8x10 string art. I thought, "man I could make that!" Off I went back to my mom and Bernie's (who are currently building a beautiful house and happen to have their own lumber mill) and found some cedar planks to take home. They are actually from an old cedar power pole! A quick stop at Canadian Tire for some nails and jute and a little help from Chris and voila!
I had Chris's help with the base. I measured the planks to the length I wanted and had him cut and then lined them up so they fit the best, I was going for rustic and imperfect which I think I achieved! We took a large piece of chip board left over from some other project and secured the cedar planks to it. We went a little overboard which made things a little heavy, if I were to do it again I would maybe make three small strips of chipboard to attach the planks to. We covered the whole thing and left about a 1 inch border.
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| These boards aren't going anywhere! |
I have seen different techniques for laying out the nails and I probably used the most difficult way. While some people are smart and print out some kind of stencil to use, or use some kind of projector to throw the image on to the boards, I pulled up a silhouette on my phone and free handed it with a giant pencil. My boards totaled in at about 3 feet high by 2 feet wide (roughly) and I though it would be smart to just draw it. My proportions were off three or four times before I finally got it. Pencil and light marks are important here. While most of it will get covered with string or nails, you dont want to be able to see your sketch. Especially if this will be more of a desk or nightstand project.
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| Close enough. |
None of this project is hard in a technical sense, everyone can stencil and hammer, but this step was the most tedious. Get yourself a box of finishing type nails, they sell them in different finishes so pick whatever you like, and start nailing. Pick any spot and hammer the nails about 1/3 of the way into the wood. You will need enough out to wrap multiple strings around, but also enough in to hold everything in place with the tension from wrapping. Place them evenly spaced apart, about an inch (depending on the size of project). Have fun around those tight places! When you have a lot of detail in one section, place the nails a little bit closer.
More nails.
More nails.
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| Phew. That should do. |
The next part is pretty fun. There are no rules to it. Tie a little knot with the jute around a single nail and start criss-crossing and winding and wrapping. Every nail should be wrapped more than once, and going in a row for a little bit around detailed sections helps create a shape. Every now and then I would do a total loop around one single nail to lock everything in place. I used just over one roll of jute (way cheaper at Canadian Tire than at a craft store! Plus same aisle as the nails. Win.) and when I ran out I tied the end of the new roll to it and kept winding. I didn't take any photos while I was winding (hands were too busy with all the string) but here are some close ups of different sections so you get the idea. When I thought it was full looking enough for me I just cut the jute from the roll and tied a tiny knot on one of the nails. If you tuck the knot in beneath some other string you can't even see it.
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| Antler Madness! |
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| Yeah, check out that neck curve. |
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| Complete! |
Have fun and be creative with this one! You can do almost anything and they look amazing once finished!
Supplies Needed:
- Wood for base and for securing together.
- One or two rolls of Jute (depending on the size of the project)
- Box of finishing nails
Love,
Jen
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