Simple Heart-Shaped Nail String Art Perfect For Beginner DIYers

If you’ve never done any string art before this would be a great project to start with. The heart shape is simple, you can make the stencil yourself and the project as a whole is very beginner-friendly.

Also, string art, in general, is great because it only ever requires very few supplies. With that in mind, let’s see what it takes to make this lovely string art heart decoration.

Materials needed for this string art project:

wood board
grey and beige acrylic paint
paint brush
stud
hanger
embroidery thread
pencil
hammer
scissors
tape

How to make this string art heart:

Step 1: Paint the board

First things first, go ahead and prep the board. Use beige acrylic paint to paint the front and all the edges. You might need to apply two coats of paint to get perfect coverage. Before you do that however make sure you’re happy with the dimensions and proportions of your board.

Step 2: Measure and mark a striped pattern on the board

We wanted the backdrop of this heart to have a striped pattern so we went ahead and marked the lines with a pencil. If you want to do the same thing you need a ruler as well. Measure the board and decide how many stripes you want to make based on how thick you want them to be.

Step 3: Tape off the stripes

In order to get this striped pattern you’ll need to cover some of the areas on the board with painter’s tape. Cover the sections that you want to keep the beige color and leave the rest exposed. Make sure your tape lines up with the markings you made earlier.

Step 4: Paint the stripes

Once the tape is in place, take the light blue acrylic paint and apply a coat or two on the exposed sections of the board. Don’t forget the edges and don’t worry if you go outside the lines. That’s what the tape is there for.

Step 5: Remove the tape

When you’re done painting the stripes go ahead and peel off the tape. It’s probably best to do this before the paint starts to dry because you don’t want it to chip away or to look messy.

Step 6: Make a paper template

You’re going to need a heart template and this is actually something that you can do yourself. All you need is a piece of paper, a pencil and scissors. Trace the heart and make adjustments if needed, then cut off the excess paper but make sure to leave a bit on each side.

Step 7: Hammer the nails along the outline

Next, take your paper stencil and center it on the board. Tape it in place so it doesn’t move around and it’s easier to hammer in the nails later.

Now that your stencil stays in place, take your hammer and start to add the nails along the outline. Use small nails and space them 1 cm or so apart or however you see fit. Don’t hammer them all the way in, just enough to keep them straight and in place.

Step 8: Remove the paper

Once all the nails are in place go ahead and remove the paper because later on it’s going to be impossible to do so. You’re not going to reuse the stencil so don’t worry about it getting ruined.

Step 9: Wrap the string around the nails

This is the most important step of the entire project. It’s when you’re actually making the string art. Decide where you want to start from. We chose the nail in the top middle. Wrap one end of the string around this nail and make sure it doesn’t come off or get loose. Then wrap the rest of the string around the other nails.

First wrap the string around the nails in succession to create an outline for your heart.

Then start to go from side to side and create a sort of random zig-zag pattern. The idea is to cover the interior of the ehart with string as best as possible without getting any big gaps.

When you’re done secure the other end of the string onto a nail, make a couple of knots and cut off the excess string.

Step 10: Attach the hook

At this point the heart string art is all done and all that’s left to do is attach a picture frame hook to the back so you can hang it on a wall. If you’re using a self-adhesive hook this is going to be easy. Just make sure it’s centered so the heart looks level when you hang it.