How to Make a DIY String Art Gift

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO!

Hello friends! So let me begin by saying that I am not the most experienced with DIY projects. Before this, I had made probably a total of 2 DIY projects, one of which simply being spray-painting an old bedside table I found in my garage (yes, that was it… I cleaned, then spray-painted it.) So when I found myself in need of a Christmas gift for my boyfriend, a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, I decided that a Cowboys string art in the shape of our beloved state of Texas would be the perfect gift!

That’s not all. The BEST part about this gift was that it only cost around $15 to make!

I was shocked, I couldn’t believe that it was so easy to make for such an affordable price. Not to mention, it’s something that he absolutely LOVED and knows I made it specifically for him!

Soooooo let’s get started!

Also, feel free to customize this to what YOU like with different states, teams, colors, etc! The possibilities are ENDLESS, so get creative! 🙂

 

Tools Needed

Paint brush (I used a 2” brush)

Hammer

Materials Needed

Square piece of wood (18” x 18”)

Box of nails (1 inch)

White vinyl sticker letters (1 inch tall)

White string

Blue paint (I used DAL ROYAL NFL-025H from Glidden, since they have official NFL team colors)

Star sticker

Print out/Stencil of Texas (15” x 15”)

Small saw tooth picture hanger

Small pieces of painter’s tape

Ruler

Directions

Step 1: Lay out newspaper on a flat surface for painting and place wood in the middle.

 

Step 2: Open paint can and stir with a ruler to ensure paint is thoroughly mixed. Begin painting the wood, making sure to cover all crevices and remembering to get the sides and edges (I didn’t paint the back since it would be hanging on a wall and the back would not be seen). Wait for this first coat of paint to dry before repeating the step for the second coat of paint.

 

*Make sure paint is completely dry before continuing*

 

Step 3: After ensuring paint is dry, take TX stencil and center it in the middle of the painting. Tape it down so that it does not move.

 

Step 4: Take your box of 1 inch nails and begin hammering them in about half-way along the outline of the TX stencil until you have made your way all the way around the stencil. Each nail should start about 2-3 mm after the one before. (They are going to be pretty close together, so don’t worry!)

 

*Every once and a while, take a step back to look and make sure the nails are all being hammered in the same distance when you look at the wood from the side.*

 

Step 5: Remove the stencil after you finish hammering in the nails all around the outline. Take your star sticker and place it in the upper right hand corner of TX. Make sure it is well-stuck before continuing to ensure it doesn’t start peeling up!

 

Step 6: Take your 1 inch nails and begin hammering in nails around the outline of the star sticker. These should be the same distance apart as the nails hammered in around the TX outline.

Step 7: Take your white string and pick a nail, (I used the one directly above the top point of the star sticker) then tie the string around the nail, knotting it many times to ensure it will not come off.

 

Next, start working on stringing around each of the nails, starting with your starting nail on the outline of TX and stringing it back inside to a nail on the outline of the star. (I know this probably sounds super confusing, it’s easier to understand by looking at the pics!)

 

*ALL nails on the star will have multiple loops around them since there are so many nails on the TX outline compared to the star outline inside.

Don’t worry about this! Just make sure the nails with the most string strung around them are hammered in well!*

Continue this all the way around until you arrive back where you started. Tie off the string on the same nail you started (MAKE SURE TO TIE IT IN A TIGHT KNOT. You do NOT want this coming undone!!!) and step back to look at the string art thus far. (I did this to check if I had any visible dark spots or areas that I had missed. If there was, I just added a piece of string where the dark spot was and tied it off to the corresponding nails.

 

Step 8: Next, take your white vinyl stickers and pick out the letters for DALLAS COWBOYS.

 

Place the letters close to each other to spell out COWBOYS in the bottom left corner, and DALLAS in the top right corner. I used the ruler to keep the letters straight and ensure they were the same distance from the top/bottom of the board when placing them.

      

Step 9: Lastly, attach the small saw tooth picture hanger to the back of the wood at the top (use the ruler to make sure it’s in the center).

Aaaaaaaaaand you’re done!! You now have a great DIY Dallas Cowboys String Art project to give to someone as a gift or keep and enjoy for yourself!

Thanks for reading you guys! Post a comment to let me know what you think or if you have any questions! 🙂

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