DIY Project #4 - String Word Art

This is a great way of upcycling unwanted boards or shelves that are no longer needed or missed. It's a very creative idea for your home and bearing in mind that it's not going to be done in one sitting like the other projects I've posted up.

Checklist: ● unwanted board/shelf

                  ● pen or pencil for marking

                  ● ruler

                  ● scalpel

                  ● cutting mat

                  ● a message you to have

                  ● masking tape
                  ● nails preferably round heads and small
                  ● hammer
                  ● embroidery thread

Tip/warning/advice: depending on the size of the message and the board you would need to measure out the spacing between the letters and punctuation marks. Based on that point where you would be placing each nail would also determine the outcome of the letters so the more adequate spacing there is between each nail the more noticeable the message becomes. Cutting shortcuts would not work with this project so please be careful and take your time on this one.

It's important to measure the size of the board before printing off the message as this would determine the spacing between each letter and punctuation. Once the message has been printed out carefully cut out everything leaving no white spacing. This is vital as you would want to be as close to the chosen typeface as possible. The typeface I have chosen is Placard MT Condensed due to it's height and thickness.

The quote I have chosen is "Inexpensive is good" by Douglas Wilson. I admit I do not know of him but his quote was chosen as a short example regarding inexpensive ideas for this whole blog. There were other quotes with connection to the word 'inexpensive' but this one fit the bill for me also it was short enough to fit my board.

1: re-arranging the quote with reasonable spacing between the characters and taping them down with small bits of masking tape this was you can still see the edge of the letters yet keep them steady. I didn't have any round head nails so bought some small copper ones which should do fine for me (3). Careful not to hammer in the nails at an angle to prevent damaging the board when straightening them as this would affect the threading stage. 4: it should start off like this and once one character has been traced carefully peel off the tapes to freely move the paper.

1: although the copper nails don't show the quote I have chosen this is when the fun part comes in; 2: using a thread preferably an embroidery thread outlining each letter then zig-zag motion to fill the space. I found that it was easier to start off with the shortest word so it gives me the idea of how much thread I needed per character (3). Be sure to make the thread secure on the nails or it would slowly unravel.

Finished piece and it doesn't look too bad for first time but I would strongly suggest having a larger and longer board to work with as spacing is important due to this being very fiddly for a long time.

The typeface you choose can be italics if you want a challenge but the finished piece would look better with different coloured threads. The board can be primed or painted beforehand to make the words stand out more but it's optional. When placing the board above eye level make sure it is safe from falling onto anyone due to the nails.

My receipt for this project:

_______________________

Black board--------- £2.00

Copper nails-------- £2.70

Total                         £4.70

Everything else I've used for this project was within reach so again I have spent under £5 and still have a lot of nails left to create another piece. Unfortunately I didn't have any old boards lying around so popped out to my local IKEA to the bargain corner and it's like a treasure find with discontinued furniture pieces or damaged and reduced. No one would think twice when they see your finished piece it would be the talk of the house in a way.

DIY Project #4 Completed ☑