State String Art

It is hard to believe that almost all of my nursery projects are finished now and all that is left to do is clean things up.  But I guess I am almost 35 weeks and I am taking a two week class starting week after next so it is a good thing that the room is pretty much done.

Today I have a post on some more decor for the room.  String art is such an easy project and it looks so cool.  I chose to make string art with the states of North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Kansas since we have family living in all of the those states. I found the states in the Silhouette online store and they happened to be the perfect size to fit on the wood plaques that I bought at Hobby Lobby.  I put hearts on each of the states in cities where I have lived or have family or both.  I cut the states on contact paper using my Silhouette.  I then stained the wood plaques with some leftover stain from another project.

I put the contact paper states on the plaques using transfer tape.  Then I started nailing in the small linoleum nails around the edge of the states and inside the heart.  I found that using a small pair of needle nose pliers to hold the nails in place while I hammered them in made the task much easier. It took me several days to complete this task because I could only do one before I needed a break with my pregnancy carpal tunnel.

Next I removed the contact paper.

I didn't take any pictures of wrapping the string but I used embroidery thread and started by tying it to one corner of the state.  Then I wrapped it around part of the heart and then went back and wrapped it around the next nail on the edge of the state.  I continued this until I got all around the state.  Of course the heart nails will be used several times each since there are less of them.

They turned out exactly as I had envisioned them so that made me happy.  Tying the string was a little frustrating because my string kept getting tangled up as I was trying to wrap it but it was worth it.

I put these up on the wall behind the glider with a few other art pieces.

I found the gold frame in a closet.  It was a plain wood frame that I spray painted gold.  The picture that is in it is one that I took in college but I plan on replacing it with something else.  The bottom piece is a simple project that I put together with a frame that I found at TJ Maxx.

The print is just the page of an old atlas that I bought at a used book store for another project that I will be sharing soon.  It is Mexico.  I chose that page because my mother-in-law is from Mexico.  I cut the phrase "oh the places you'll go" out on gold adhesive vinyl which I happened to have in my craft closet using my Silhouette.  I used transfer tape to place the vinyl on the glass of the frame.  It was a super simple project and it turned out to be so cute.  

So that is another completed piece of the nursery for you.  I still have 3 or 4 projects left to share with you in this room and then you will have to wait a little bit for the big room reveal post.  Next up on the blog will be the 4th installment in my Sewing for Baby series.