How To Create a DIY String Art Project

I hope everyone survived the "spring forward" event this weekend. It is starting to feel like spring as we are expecting a high of 41 today. I will believe it when I see it! I found myself wishing for sunshine and warm weather often this past weekend. I was also wishing for a million dollars.

If I had a million dollars…

I’d probably go crazy because I wouldn’t know which project to start first. So I must give thanks to our strict budget for keeping me sane….mostly. 

But if I did have a million dollars, I’d tackle our mudroom by redoing the coat hook shelf, building a bench, buying new rugs, hanging art on the walls, changing the light fixture, and putting in some built-ins in the closet. 

Since Publisher’s Clearing House hasn’t shown up to my front door with balloons and an oversized cardboard check, I’m slowly chipping away at that wish list and I decided the next project to check off was the art on the walls. 

I want our entryway to be a welcoming area for our guests, but also an introduction into who we are and what we’re all about. Though this harsh winter has really made me question my loyalty to our good ol’ mitten state, the Mister and I really do love living in Michigan and we spend a lot of time exploring our state through camping, hiking, and kayaking. I saw some string art projects on Pinterest that really captured my heart and decided to tackle one myself.

Now Pinterest is great for gathering ideas, but Pinterest doesn’t always know best. Since I’m prone to migraines and have been suffering from a sinus headache for the last four weeks (will spring ever come?), a project involving a lot of hammering and pounding did not appeal to me. 

I found 12x12 squares of Styrofoam at JoAnn’s for only $7 and, with a 40% off coupon, I decided styrofoam would be a great (quieter) alternative to wood.

I glued two of the ½ inch pieces of Styrofoam together and then wrapped it in some brown fabric I had laying around. I wrapped the corners like I was wrapping a Christmas present and used hot glue and some straight pins to secure it in the back.

I used Google to find a basic outline of Michigan. I printed it, cut it out, and laid it out on my Styrofoam "canvas". Once I was happy with its placement, I pinned it in place temporarily so it wouldn’t move.

I used ball-tip straight pins as my “nails” and placed them about ½ - ¾ inches apart around the cut out of the map. I added a heart shape inside the mitten as well. 

I used cross stitch thread as my string. It comes in so many colors!! To start, I tied the string in a knot around the bottom corner pin and then started wrapping. I went from each outside pin to a pin on the heart and back and then connected the string to the next pin in the outline. It’s important to wrap the string all the way around the pin before moving to the next one. I learned this the hard way. At the end, I tied another knot and added a drop of superglue to the knots to hold them in place.

Since I didn't have a heart or any other shape in the middle of the U.P., I just zigzagged the string back and forth to fill in the shape a bit. I worked my way around the perimeter the same way and tied the knot at the end.

This project is simple but it adds a pop of color to our entryway. When I finish the next DIY art project, I plan to hang them on the wall but that will come a bit later, unless of course that big cardboard check shows up...

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