I Heart CA

You might have seen this project floating around Pinterest lately, but my friend Brooke actually made it. And I copied her. Don't you know all great things are "borrowed" from other creative minds? 


Super inexpensive but a bit time consuming, this is a very cool piece of art that anyone can make.  Here's the details on how to get one of your very own...


Supplies 


2 ft x 2 ft smooth plywood board (Lowe's) - other sizes available 
Brass (or other color) finishing or linoleum nails - 3 packages (Lowe's)
Craft paint in your color of choice (Michael's)
Crochet Thread in your color of choice (Michael's)
State of your choice, blown up to size just smaller than your board
Hammer
Paintbrush
Lint free cloth
Bowl for paint thinning


Directions


1. Wipe dust/dirt off your plywood. 


2. Mix craft paint with water to thin. Approx. 2/3 paint to 1/3 water. 


3. In sections, paint on your mixture, then quickly wipe excess with lint free cloth. Do entire board first, then a second coat if you want it a darker shade. (I liked one coat because it let the grain of the wood show through) Carefully dab paint on sides of board, and blot excess. 


4. Cut your state out carefully along the edges. After the paint is dry, double stick tape your state in place on your board. Cut out a heart and tape in place over your city's general location. 


5. Hammer your nails along the entire edge of your state, just outside your state cut out. Space them close together, but with enough space in between to run the string through. Hammer them in approx. 1/3 of the way up the nail. Pay attention to how many hits per nail you do so your nails will be uniform all the way around. Repeat around the heart when your state is complete. 


6. Tie your string securely around one nail on your board. Start randomly criss-crossing your string back and forth across your state and heart. Be sure to leave the heart space free of string inside. Keep the string near the top of the nail. This step takes quite a bit of time so be patient! You can decide how much of the board you want showing through your string pattern. When finished, securely tie your string on a nail and trim end. 


(Entire project took about 3 hours to make. This included Harrison "hammering" with his hammer after every nail :) 


Voila! You're finished with your masterpiece. Enjoy the accolades coming your way...