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I’ve been wanting to do this one for weeks, and yet I kept putting it off for some reason. I think because it was pretty intimidating, if I’m honest. There are some easy string art designs like mason jars and vases, but then there’s projects like this that include a lot more nails, has them very close together, and needs multiple colors and close attention to detail.
And yet….
I finally tackled the project and I’m pretty happy with the results. There are some things I wish I did differently (like doing it on a lighter piece of wood) but lessons were learned. 🙂 And now, let me pass on what I learned to you.
Materials needed:
Wood
Bike String Art Template (here)
3 Different Colored Strings
1 inch finishing nails
2 1 inch nails with larger heads
Optional:
Saw hook
Screwdriver
Silk Flowers
Hot glue gun
- Once you have your materials set up, go ahead and place the template over top the wood. I sized mine so that there was about 1-2 inches from the left and right side respectively, while the top and bottom have less than half an inch from the tallest and lowest points respectively. If you want to know how to print the template to scale your piece of wood, read the paragraph at the bottom of the instructions. For now, I’ll press on!
2. Use your two larger headed nails to go into the center of the wheels, as pictured above.
3. Continue on to nail the rest of the project. I tend to nail the corners first, because those are the “nonnegotiable” parts of the project that have to be in specific places. If you don’t have those defined spots, the structure of the whole bike becomes wonky.
4. Fill in the rest of the project with the nails and rip up the paper. If there’s any paper left behind (like there was with mine) use a pair of tweezers to pull them out.
5. It’s hard to tell what’s what with the paper out, so start with the easy portions. Start by outlining the tires by wrapping your black string around it about 4 times.
6. Next up, wrap the black string inside the tires stylistically. You can do that the same way I did (see the visual) or find your own style.
7. Move on to the main bike next with whatever color you chose. Fill it in the best you can so it looks nearly solid.
8. Fill in the basket with colors of your choice. Manipulate the string however you have to in order to make it appear solid.
9. Finally, do the touch-up details with the handlebars and the foot pedals.
This step’s optional, but I filled in the basket with some small silk flowers by using hot glue. It added a layer of beauty to the project that I really liked.
With that, the project is done! Of course, you can always add a saw hook to the back of the art for convenient hanging, or just plan on using command hooks.
I promised I’d explain more about how to scale the picture to fit your piece of wood, so if you’re interested in that part, here’s the explanation: when you go to print a document, it gives you the option to print it in a certain scale. Most of the time, that scale is set to “default.” If you want to make a picture larger or smaller, change the setting from “default” to “custom.” Then, choose a number to scale it to. My computer’s setting is that 200% is the largest it’ll go to, which is plenty big for most projects. This tidbit applies to printing out anything–it works on every document I’ve ever tried! It’s very handy. 😉
Have any requests on what string art to do next? Want to see another type of project? Leave it in the comments below.
