A Nailed Initial

Sorry you don't get to see the process in this craft, but I definitely will do this one again-- real soon.  I don't see this type of art hanging in the places that I frequent.  But I sure love the effect.  It seems that it needs a dramatic background to stand out.

Before our day care center moved to this new location, we had made a portion of the room a wood working area.  That center was more how to use a hammer and nails.  But when I saw the "love art" at http://quelinda-crafts.blogspot.com/2012/01/string-wall-art-for-valentines-day.html, there seemed to be a purpose for that little "loud" space.

As you can see, we didn't use wood for this project.  I just couldn't see myself scouting around for wood.  So we used left-over poster board.

The kids can easily frame this and put it on their walls. I hope this project gave them some inspiration to think of other background material for future, adventurous projects (like wood).

I liked not restricting the kids too much in exactly how to wrap the string, so the variation in stringing was bound to happen.

Supplies:
1. poster board
2. various colored string
3. water colors
4. nails
5. hammer
6. q-tips

Directions:
1. print out and cut initial of child's first name (this can a whole name or word)
2. tape letter(s) onto poster board
3. hammer nails 1/4 inch  apart around letter(s)
4. wrap string around nails
5. water color background using q-tips

Caution:
Don't forget to tell kids to hammer nails half the length into the soft poster board.  If they forget, they can easily pull them up.

Duration:
For us, this was a 2-3 day project.