How to Create String Word Art

Idea Credit

I feel like almost all of my ideas nowadays come from pinterest, and this one is no exception. When I was trying to think of a cute craft I could make for both my mother and mother-in-law for Christmas, pinterest once again inspired me with string word art. 

There are lots of different variations of string word art on pinterest, but my favorite tutorial is found on the Honey & Fitz blog which you can see by clicking on the link below. In it she uses cork board instead of wood.

Honey and Fitz Original String Word Art Post

Materials Needed

Home Improvement Store

• Piece of wood the size you desire (for mine I got a long thin piece of wood and had them cut it in half so I got two signs out of one piece of wood)
• Roughly 200 round headed nails (make sure they look nice since you'll see the tops in the finished product)
• Sample size can of wood stain (if you're going to stain your sign)

Craft Store

• Embroidery thread (for a three foot sign I used 8 packs)
• Acrylic Paint (if you're going to paint your sign)

Let's Get Started

You're going to want to print out your word in a cute font that you like. I downloaded a font called "Angel's Tears" which you can download here. To print your word large enough you'll have to print it one letter at a time in word and then tape the word together. 

Next, you'll want to prepare your wood with either paint or stain. If you're using acrylic paint, put in on in thin layers allowing time to dry between the layers. If you're staining follow the instructions on the can.

Once your wood is dry and ready to go tape on your word centered on your sign. Then hammer in the nails around your word. Try to place them close together so the curves in your letters look nice in the end.

This is the fun part! Grab your embroidery thread and make a plan of how you want them to blend together. Tie a double not onto one of the nails and start weaving back and forth. It's important to string from one side of the letter to the other, and not along the edges of the letter otherwise it'll make your word look blocky.

Final Product

This is Momma Marler's (Brian's Mom's) word art. I used the darkest wood stain I could find and just white thread. If you're worried about blending colors nicely this is a good way to go, because it's a little easier and it still looks great!

This is Momma Martin's (my Mom's) word art. This one took longer because I had to think about blending the colors. To blend colors smoothly do layers of the two different colored threads over top one another.