Here’s a brand new project for the tweens and teens: string art! Although string art hit its heyday in the 70’s, it’s making a comeback lately, especially when done in a random fashion (unlike the highly precise geometric style of the old days). This is a GREAT project to get kids comfortable with using a hammer and nail, though it obviously should be carefully demonstrated and monitored so that little fingers don’t get hammered. If you’re concerned about them not quite having the motor skills to use a hammer safely, have an adult put in the nails and have the children add the string.
Here’s our weekly YouTube Channel video showing you how it’s done (please subscribe!):
The materials you need to make this kids string art project is:
- A wooden plaque (ours was approximately 9″ x 7″ oval)
- Acrylic paint and a sponge or brush
- Wire brad nails
- Embroidery floss
- Hammer and scissors
The hot air balloon template we used is from card maker Bird’s Cards blog, isn’t it fantastic?
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The steps are:
- Paint your plaque and let dry.
- Tape the template to the plaque and use it as a guide to make nail holes.
- Remove the template and hammer the nails into the nail holes.
- Use black embroidery floss to outline the main areas of the design by weaving in and out of the nails. Start and end each piece of string by tying a knot around one of the nails.
- Use colored floss to randomly zig zag weave to fill in the colored solid areas.
