I mean no offence to my other DIY projects, but I think I have to say that this one is my favourite. Probably because it’s simple, bright, graphic, and colourful. It makes me smile each time I look at it. And although it was both the most frustrating and most soothing project to create, overall I did enjoy the process.
The frustration came from trying to hammer these itsy-bitsy little nails into a thin sheet of particle board, and it not working, the wood almost cracking, my thumb almost getting smashed. I now have a couple tiny holes in my desk – oops. The soothing part came from painting – something I haven’t done in far too long. There’s something lovely about trying to get even brush strokes, and it is the perfect activity for while I’m watching a movie (I have issues sitting idle and just watching a movie).
I took inspiration from Elise’s ampersand nail art, which I love. But I wanted to make a more colourful version for my home! I had some bright pink string leftover from my hanging plant DIY, so when I saw the beautiful turquoise paint at the store, I knew it was perfect. I bought the yellow, not intending to use it on this project. But once I put the nail/string board back into its black frame, I knew it wasn’t quite “me” yet. I had to go ahead and paint the frame yellow! I should have just gotten the unpainted frame at the store, but live and learn I guess. Here’s what it looked like before I decided to paint!
It took me about three coats to get the yellow dark enough over the black frame. It was great fun while watching other movies and Olympic events!
Let’s talk materials. I got my paint and a frame and board set from my local craft store (Deserres). The frame/board cost about $10, and the paints were $2 each. I got the string from my Dollarama. The nails are gold, and came in a “picture hanging kit” that I also found at Dollarama. It ended up taking me two of these kits to have enough nails to create a good heart-shaped outline.
The heart I cut out of regular printer paper. I sketched a heart, then went around with a ruler and made sure that each point of the heart was an inch apart. Then I cut it out, taped the heart to my dry, painted board and then went to town, working up a sweat nailing those little buggers in.
The next step was to carefully wrap and twist the string around the nails in a way that I liked. This is the most fun part! Let your creativity guide you. Once I was happy, I wrapped and tied off the ends. Slipped it into the frame. Nailed another nail into the wall. Hung it up where I can see it and where it’ll always make me smile. :)
Yippee-kai-yay! I’m thrilled at how it turned out, thrilled that it came into being pretty naturally, thrilled that this is project #9. As I write this, I’m glancing around my room, spotting the DIY’s that I’ve made this year. They really have enriched my space, as well as my creativity. I’m very happy I chose to create this goal for 2012.
This makes 9 DIY projects I’ve created this year. To see the others, click here!
