Home province/state string art
The last thing my house needs is more wall art. Well, I suppose if we’re getting technical, the last things it needs are wooden monograms, dust, fabric stashes, and crayons with the labels ripped off.
Anyway, that certainly doesn’t stop me from making new art for any sliver of wall space I can find. There are so many fun examples of string art — not to be confused with string theory, Big Bang Theory fans — and I knew I had to try it.
I started with a scrap of wood from the basement, and gave it two quick coats of chalkboard paint — mainly because I just love that soft black shade, but also because it meant I could do chalk lettering instead of painted lettering. I was really into an episode of Suits, so I didn’t want to miss anything.
While the paint was drying, I hopped online and Googled “Nova Scotia silhouette.” In no time at all I was printing out a simple outline of our fair province. I cut it out a centimetre away from the border, so I could make it a little larger than the original. My apologies to any seaside towns that might have been lopped off by my sloppy cutting!
I traced the paper template onto the wood with a pencil, using tiny markings so I didn’t have to erase anything later.
Then I grabbed a package of teeny-tiny nails (that’s a technical term) and started hammering them all the way around the outline — starting at key parts of the shape, and then filling in between until I got bored. Then I drew a heart over our general area (Truro) and hammered nails all the way around it.
I used leftover grey yarn to outline the province by wrapping a strand around a nail for a full loop, and then stringing it to the next one. Then came the tricky part!
I have a beef to pick with Nova Scotia — its shape, more specifically. In the string art on Pinterest, it’s always of simply-shaped states like Alabama or Wisconsin. Nova Scotia’s tricky shape mean it was hard (impossible?!) to neatly string red embroidery thread from the heart to the perimeter. I eventually gave up and switched to a random pattern, but it’s still bugging me.
After I threw the thread aside, I taped off the edges of the wood and used white paint to give them a faux “frame.”
Then I grabbed a piece of the kids’ chalk, sharpened it, and wrote “Home is where the heart is.” I briefly considered printing out letters and tracing them, but who has time for that? My favourite trick for free-hand lettering is to find a cool font on a free website (like Dafont.com), type in your word or phrase, and then copy it as best you can directly onto your project. In this case, the letters were very simple — but making the horizontal strokes in H, E, R, and A extra-low gave it a more polished look.
I haven’t decided where to hang this project yet, but I’m sure there are a few gallery walls that could use a friend. I’ll just have to make sure it’s hung nice and high, or else my darling children might decide it’s a free-for-all chalkboard!
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Heather's Handmade Life 