A few years ago I was able to do a community craft at BlockParty Handmade in downtown Louisville. The craft that we made was Kentucky state string art. We were lined up on the sidewalk with our hammers and nails, crafting away. It was so much fun that I wanted to share a tutorial on how to make this easy project.
What you will need:
1 wooden board (from craft store or hardware store)
1 small box of nails
String in the color of your choice (should contrast in color to your background wooden board)
1 hammer
1 computer print out of your state shape (in this case, Kentucky)
tweezers (optional)
Start by selecting a surface to hammer on that won't cause any damage. Here, I've chosen a tile counter top but places a piece of cardboard between the surface and the wooden board to protect the counter.
Next, take your print out and begin to hammer nails along the outline of the state's shape.
Continue hammering around the outline until you are satisfied with the shape.
Slowly tear away the paper from the nails. (Tweezers can help pull out stubborn pieces of paper if needed.)
Once all the paper is removed, you are left with your state shape!
Now for the really fun part! Get comfortable on a couch watching your favorite show, and go to town running your string through the nails. Start by tying off a piece of the string to one nail and then tightly wind the string in a random way around the nails to create your string art.
Your string art can be woven through the nails as thick or thin as you like, it's up to you!
When you are finished, tie off the string on one nail and clip the string from the spool leaving a tail. Weave the tail ends of the string through the string art (try the tweezers again if you need help).
Now you are finished! Look at the beautiful project that you created!
Feeling stressed in the New Year already? Try this satisfying project and hammer your frustrations away!
The Kentucky state string art piece can be displayed on a shelf or mounted to a wall. No matter how you display it, you can proudly tell everyone that you made it by yourself!
