We got so many compliments on this giant string heart from The Cream – and the best part – it’s pretty easy to make one of these yourself! Such a rad piece for your reception decor that you can keep for your home also. :)
Materials Needed:
• piece of wood – the bigger the more dramtic!
• string – we used the pink neon thin rope you can find at Home Depot, but you could use any yarn or string
• box of nails (if want a nail with a decent head so the string won’t pop off)
• spray paint to paint the wood
• white paper to draw the heart on
Step 1: Spray paint the wood the background color you picked. We used dark gray, so the pink would really pop
Step 2: Once the paint is dry, tape the wood with the white paper and draw the heart shape on the paper
Step 3: Time to get the hammer out! Nail around the entire outline of the heart – we spaced our nails about an inch apart.
Step 4: Once all your nails are in. Remove the white paper and throw it away.
Step 5: Now the fun part. Get your string and tie a knot around the head of one of the nails. Keep stringing the string around nails. There isn’t a right or wrong way – just keep going until you like the pattern you created. I also then outlined the entire heart to make the outline pop a bit more also.
Total cost for this project – $35 (the most expensive part is the wood!) and it can be done in a few hours. There are so many different ways you can customize this DIY for your own wedding day, right? So fun.
Thanks again to Katherine Elizabeth Photography for the photos!
Ah! I love you! I had pinned the image of the heart made with string earlier and was already trying to figure out how to make it! You just made my life so much easier, thanks!
that would sure look nice hanging on the wall in our bedroom! even better 2 remind you of your wedding night.
cute idea. doing the bride and groom first letter of their names using this method would be a cool idea too!
This has to be one of my most favorite DIY’s you’ve ever done. It’s gorgeous. Neon is so perfect right now. Thank you for sharing the how-to!
Linked up to this on The Proper Pinwheel today!
http://theproperpinwheel.com/2012/03/fresh-find-friday-28/
first, I love this! second, what did you use to make it stand up? I want to do this for a friend of mine and I need it to stand up but also adapt to be hung in their home later. any suggestions?
This is SO GREAT. I have to try this.
Ooo, I love this!! So, so pretty!
Thanks for inspiring me to try this!
I made these today after seeing this post : http://pinterest.com/pin/162481499026346114/
Did this last night with a Fleur de Lis and it turned out awesome! Thanks for post =)
what a great project! love it!!!! xx
Alice Barton ♥ TheMowWay
I loved this idea so much and used it as a baby shower activity! Thanks so much for the DIY instructions.
This is a wonderful DIY project, thanks for the great instructions!
I created a double-decker version after reading your post: http://dreamlyfe.me/blog_showing_love.html
Great work.
SO CUTE!! awesome idea, well done too! Thanks so much for showing us how it’s done :)
I love this project I tried to spray paint the board and didn’t really come out that good. Do you remember what brand of Spray paintdid you used?
It was rustoleum – http://www.rustoleum.com/ – which I got at Home Depot. You might have to do 2-3 coats depending on the type of wood you have also. Best of luck!
Thank you!! : )
It turned out perfect thank you.. I sent a pic to you. Also I used a side of a crate box (it was free) and stained the hole thing.. made it look like a frame. It was so perfect! Just wanted to say thanks.
I wonder if this will look good with fabric covered corkboard and pushpins. That would probably be a lot faster than hammering in nails.
Do you have any tips for drawing the heart? I know I am going to have trouble drawing it freehand and making it that even. Is there any way to trace it from a giant pattern? I’ve read about the projector method, but it seems really difficult and I don’t know anyone who has one. Thanks for the great project!
I took a clip art from the computer of a heart to staples. Cut it exactly in half and had both enlarged to fit 11×17 paper. I then taped it together to get my heart. It wasn’t as large as I wanted but to get it to fit my 24×24 canvas it would have cost a little over $20 to enlarge with a special machine in Staples. This cost a little over $4. and I think it was that much because they used color ink.
Or you could always use the good old fashioned fold a big piece of paper in half and cut one side of the heart, with the fold in the middle. Unfold, and you have a perfectly even heart!
love this DIY. You could do this with any shape.
Hi, I’m just curious as to where you got the wood board for this project?
Hi Melissa, It was from Home Depot! I just had them cut it to the size I wanted. Best wishes with the project!!
What kind of wood is this? And how big
I am going to do this for my friend’s wedding. Saw it on pinterest, and was immediately inspired. I wanted to make her something and this is perfect.
How did you make such a perfect heart?
I am a bit intimidated to try such a thing that could be the focal point of a room, but I am starting early so if I do not like the outcome I will make another one.
I just drew the heart freehand, but you could trace a template on another piece of paper, cut that and use as a template. Remember the fold the paper, cut the heart trick from when you were little? That would work, just need a big piece of paper. Best of luck!
Is the piece of wood a square?
Yes! It is a square :)
Wow I really love that. I wanna make a little one for the bathroom :)
WOW… Awesome… I think my private room would be nice if given this String Heart… I very Love Love Love it…;)
What kind of wood did you use? It looks like plywood. If so, how did you manage to hammer in all those nails?
I did something similar, but cheaper and not as expensive with kids in 5th grade when a teacher. Take a ceiling tile, put hat pins dipped in glue in your shape and use yarn wrapped around them. We used it for geometric shapes to measure area, diameters, angles, etc, but could be used for a heart. Wood is heavy to hang and nails hard to nail in, but hatpins in ceiling tiles is easy and its light enough to hang.
Hi,
Im going to make this for a friend for Christmas and was wondering what kind of you used from Home Depot. Only because some wood splits with nails. It looks like plywood so it would be great if you could tell me what kind of wood. Thanks, hope to hear from you soon.
how much string do you need?
Thanks for this! I tried it out tonight and it was so fun and easy. Even better, it was crazy cheap! I got all the materials for less than $5 (my 18×24 piece of wood was only $1)! I made a time lapse video as I hammered in the nails and put on the string. Hope it is helpful :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFlY3z8fTl4
I want to cover up the nails, how would you recommend doing that?
What kind of string did you use?
Do you know if you can write on the painted board when you are done? I was thinking about doing this but with my new initial as our wedding guest book, and have guests sign around the board.
Hi Sam,
Of course! I think that is a great idea! Best wishes :)
I absolutely love it! Do you remember the size of the nails? I already have everything the wood, string, heart, and my wood is similar in the thickness, what size of nails did you use?
Thank you
Love your philosophy!! This is an awesome project, and would be so sweet if hubbies/boyfriends made this for their ladies! We totally gush over cute stuff guys!
Hey i just wanted to know if you can hang photos on the string with a paperclip??
Yes! :)
Thanks for the inspiration! I just did a such a heart!
I’ve always wanted to learn how to do this specific spring art project. So glad that I’ve stumbled upon it. LOL Thanks for sharing!
This is lovely.
I love this idea and I’m going to do this for my apartment!
Thanks so much for showing us how it’s done :)
Will this work with a canvas??
I just did a big version of this on my bedroom above the bed. I don’t have a headboard so this filled up the space nicely!
what size nails did you use????
is it possible to spray with starch and remove from the nails
What kind of wood do you use? I’ve seen a couple people asked this but never got an answer? Is it plywood? If so what is the thickness?
Thanks
It’s just plywood from Home Depot! I think it was about 3/4″ thick. Hope that helps!!
I’m going nuts because every time I see your fabulous big hot pink string art heart on Pinterest someone else has managed to hijack it and try to take credit. Of course there’s always someone else trying to find the original source so they can make. Does this bother you? Can’t you embed your name into your stuff so no one will steal it? Sorry. I get crazy over people taking credit for someone elses work. I really needed to vent. Thank you for allowing that. LOL
I stained the wood a yellow natural color for my friend she loves natural looking wood but I can’t figure out what color to do the heart to make it pop on yellow natural looking wood…. any suggestions.. thanks her Wedding is in two days
Made this red sparkly yarn heart on a 4 feet by 4 feet 3/4 inch board, and covered the back with light grey tablecloth. I used a staple gun to attach fabric to board.
I just found this and I am going to try and pare it down for a young women’s ministry activity. Each young lady getting her own mini board with maybe pushpins to represent nothing separating them from God’s love because there is no beginning and ending with that string. Do you have some suggestions? Should I get a large piece of wood cut into mouse pad size squares? I’ll need about 20. I was going to pre cut the hearts and provide about 30 minutes for the activity. As you can tell I’m not a confident DIYer but I’m willing to try. Thanks for the responses and great activity.
Un cuore elegante e raffinato. Mi hai colpito con la tua idea. Very Good!
Wondering if anyone has tried doing letters like this. Any response/advice would be great!!
He estado explorando un poco por posts de alta calidad o entradas en webs sobre estos contenidos. Explorando en Google por fin encontr este sitio web. Con lectura de esta articulo, estoy convencido que he encontrado lo que estaba buscando o al menos tengo esa extraa sensacion, he descubierto exactamente lo que necesitaba. Por supuesto voy hacer que no se olvide este blog y recomendarlo, os pienso visitar regularmente.
Saludos
We will make ones for our wedding decoration, thanks for diy.
Ey! estuve leyendo asi como unas 2 horas en la
red de internet esta tarde y no pude imaginar leer nada tan espectacular como tu post.
Me ha gustado mucho el estilo que posees al escribir supongo que es lo que me ha llegado.
A mi modo de entender el tema, si todos redactores difundieran tan buenos contenidos, Internet seria mucho mas practico.
Espero que brindes mas de esta manera y siga
disfrutando contenidos tan brutales como este.
I have had this pinned for almost 2 years. My son and I made this last night. It was so easy and we had a great time doing it. He may have hit his finger a few times but never gave up. He is 11. Thank you so much for the beautiful pictures, idea and the how too. I did my board from scrap, painted it classic gray and used the Lowes bright pink yarn.
VERY creative. I can picture a ball of yard that changes colors to the colors of a wedding. Could create some interesting patterns.
Great post! Have nice day ! :) lrwnp
Hey, it’s really nice and the shape of your heart is so good! I’ve also started recently with string art and would really like to create a heart. My first project was mason jar ( not very original ), but I hope I can get better.
Thanks for sharing.
Pretty! This was an incredibly wonderful article.
Many thanks for supplying these details.
I’ve been looking into DIY stuff lately, and this diy heart is just so pretty. I mean, this is the kind of stuff that adds that extra little touch of beauty to your photos and takes it to the next level. And it doesn’t even cost 40 bucks.
This string heart is such an easy DIY and it’s so love-inspired – I can’t get enough of it. It’s in my kitchen and every morning it brightens my day.
Hi Lacey,
Many thanks for the tutorial. I was able today to test it at home. And The result is satisfying. I’m not yet an expert but your guide really helps me.
Barbara
can’t tell you how many times my string slipped and I had to start over! I was so frustrated! But with parents like you and Nick, I am sure your babies have the crafty genes too. LOL. I was still so proud of how mine turned out. I actually used two different colors of string and it turned out so cool! My buddy even stained my wood a dark color beforehand too.
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If you use a thick wool and really wrap it on thick, this could double as an acoustic absorber to help get some peace and quiet in a noisy house! See, a nice design can have an unexpected functional purpose, sometimes.