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Nail String Art Craft
Nail string art has been a craft showing up in my Pinterest feed a lot lately and I thought, how hard could that be to make? Turns out, not very hard at all! Here’s how I made my own nail string art crafts.
Supplies:
- Wood boards
- Saw and Sander
- Colored trim nails
- Hammer
- Embroidery floss
- Paper
- Scissors
- Tape
- Printer
STEP ONE – Prep the Boards
I used leftover barn wood. I actually used this same wood for Aaron and I’s wedding centerpieces! There is something so rewarding about repurposing leftover craft products.
I took the 8ft board and cut it onto square blocks. I just measured this by eye because I liked that they varied in size. After cutting the boards I used a sander to smooth out the cut edges.
STEP TWO – Find a Nail String Art Pattern
This can be just about anything! I used outlines of different designs. Print and cut these patterns out to then be taped onto the wood blocks.
STEP THREE – Nail along the Pattern
Using the colored trim nails, hammer in the outlines. This takes some practice and patience. It is important to make sure the nails are in deep enough to stay straight under the tension of the string. However, don’t nail them too far in or the nail art aesthetic will be lost.
This is the most time consuming part to be honest. It takes a while to get the nails all in and… the nails are easy to bend. Make sure to remove these bent nails and replace them with straight ones.
Feel free to experiment with the heights of the nails! In the sun and wave pattern, I had the nails rise and fall with the wave. It helps to add a bit of depth to the nail art.
The distance between the nails can also vary with the pattern. My general rule of thumb was just that, my thumb could fit between the nails. The closer the nails, the thicker the string pattern can be. However, be careful not to put the nails too close because adding string could become difficult.
Once all the nails have been added to the pattern, remove the paper! Make sure to get all the paper out before adding string.
STEP FOUR – Add the String to the Pattern
Tie one end of the embroidery floss to a nail. Weave the string back and forth along the chosen pattern. Time to experiment! Layer different colors, try boarders, and change directions of the string!
Tie off the end of the string when finished and the nail string art craft is complete!
I’ve seen pieces like this before, but had no idea how they were made! Thanks for sharing! This sounds like such a simple project and they look great. It sounds like it’s relaxing too 🙂
They really are simple! Relaxing? More like they are a good way to get out your aggression with all that hammering. The lacing of the string is quite nice though.
Oh wow, that’s actually pretty cool. How complex could you make the nail art designs?
Very! I have seen some string art where they change the colors a ton to add a lot of depth to the art. The next time I do this I want to experiment with layering the string. Meaning I will have one color on the base of the nail, then do my normal weave through, and end with the same color on top as I did on the bottom. This way the nail art looks a bit different from all sides. You can get creative with the size of the string too. So many possibilities, these are pretty simple.
This is so cool! What great designs!😊
Thank you so much!
What a fun and clever craft! These would make such amazing gifts for friends and family come the holiday season. I’ll have to look up some Christmas-y concepts!
I’ve seen some really cool crosses and those would be very easy to make! I hope you send me some pictures!
These look so cute. I’d love to make something like this. Thanks for sharing!
So happy you liked them!
These are such great designs! My students get the rare treat on an end of term day to create these with pen and paper. These will make stunning show pieces.
That’s awesome!