DIY Heart Nail Art

Anyone else with Valentines on the brain?! I think I needed something to get my mind off this cold weather keeping us locked up indoors and with Christmas put away, my mind leaped right to Valentines. 

I had several things from Little miss's party (Which I STILL have left to post about, what?!) that were perfect for setting up a Valentine's grouping on the mantel so away I went. 

I did want one new piece to put up so I whipped up this darling little heart art (ha!) that was incredibly easy to make. 

If you haven't made nail art before, it really is fun & easy to do! The "hardest" part depends on how hard of wood you use, because pounding those suckers in take the longest time of the whole deal. So choose wisely :) 

Supplies: 

*Piece of wood (I chose an old cabinet door I had)

*Desired yarn

*Nails (choose some with large enough heads that the yarn won't slide off)

*Paint

*Foam brush

*Hammer

First things first, paint your board. Or stain/leave plain depending on what look you're going for. I attempted a dipped or ombre type finish on mine. Distress if desired after paint has dried. 

Have your design printed/cut out so you'll have a guide when pounding in your nails. I like to use thicker cardstock & my silhouette but printer paper will work just fine too. If you're better at hand-drawing than I am, you can lightly sketch your design with a pencil and then erase after. Lay your design on your board. 

Pound in your nails with your desired amount of space between each. I did about 3/4 of an inch. Don't go too close as it'll be hard to wrap your yarn around but if you leave too much space, your design will look gappy when you're done. I painted my nails white before starting, although you can purchase white nails sometimes. A quick coat of spraypaint is an easy fix though. 

I was careful to avoid pounding the nails into the paper but if you do, just gently tear your paper away when you're finished and clean up the edges around the nails. 

Now for the fun part!! Grab your yarn and start wrapping!

I always tie a small knot on the first nail to keep anything from slipping. Then criss cross your design, going from far side to far side over and over. I didn't outline the outside edge because I like that look best. Just keep criss crossing until you feel like it's full enough. Thinner yarn will take more to get the desired finished look. 

After you're finished wrapping, tie a knot on the last nail too. Then trim that end. 

And there you have it!! It took about 20 minutes from start to finish (not including painting the nails). I painted the nails the day before just because. They really take no time at all to dry though. 

The same principles to everything here applied to this "beautiful" sign I did for Little Miss' nursery forever ago! Just a lot more time to get those nails in! And I used the hardest barn wood ever so it was a lot tougher. 

Considering it was my very first piece, looking back, I probably would have filled it in more but it's still the prettiest little thing. 

Want a sneak peek as to where it ended up?! 

I'll leave you with this...

I'll be back soon with more details on it! Happy Sunday! 

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