Growing up, I had always been a big fan of the old “nails in a board” string art and was so happy to see a resurgence in this campy craft lately. Using my Silhouette CAMEO and the Rhinestones Tool in my Studio software, I was able to quickly create a template for this framed piece that is reminiscent of the classic artform. With a few additional touches, I turned my string art into a sentimental decoration for Valentine’s Day.
I started out by opening up my shapes in Silhouette Studio and deleting any unwanted parts. This left me with the outline of Pennsylvania and a small heart, and I centered these inside a rectangle sized perfectly for my frame.
Next, I opened up the Rhinestones Window, selected my state outline and heart, and clicked on “Edge” under Rhinestones Effect. I also selected the smallest rhinestone size so that my holes weren’t too big on my final project…this worked for me because I was going to “sew” my design using crochet thread, but if you plan on using a thicker yarn, you may want to increase the size of your template holes.
I first cut this design out of Silhouette Chipboard and then again out of white adhesive cardstock. After pressing the adhesive cardstock directly on top of the matching chipboard piece, I was left with a very sturdy template to “sew” with my red thread. Once I finished sewing my design, I cut the phrase out of black adhesive cardstock and adhered this to the front. Then I removed all of the other pieces from this design except for the heart using the Knife Tool. Finally, I cut this shape out of Double-Sided Adhesive, layered it directly on top of the black sentiment, and added bronze glitter to make the heart really pop.
You may wonder about the placement of my heart…well, it’s the day after Groundhog Day here in the states and, as a former Pennsylvanian, attention must be paid to this wonderful little holiday. Punxsutawney is one of my favorite small towns to visit (especially in Autumn!), so it holds some special value for my husband and I as well. This project would be great for showcasing a hometown, “where you met”, or any special place!
Shapes:
Wow, how cool! Love that striking color, too.