Erin Spain

Home, DIY, & Photography

  • Home
  • About
    • Press
    • Advertise
    • Podcast
    • Disclosure & Policies
  • Project Gallery
  • YouTube
  • Photography
  • TRAVEL
  • Contact

DIY Nursery String Art Tutorial

January 19, 2015 By Erin Spain 17 Comments

Nursery string art tutorial! This technique can be adapted to create any type of string art.

Don’t let the title of this post scare you away if you don’t have a nursery to decorate! Although I’m going to share a tutorial specifically for this cute elephant nursery string art, this technique can be adapted to create any type of string art you choose.

You can modify the dimensions and use any image. When it came time to create decor for the baby’s room, this was probably one of my favorite projects. I chose an elephant because we had a few other elephant accents in the room, plus I just thought it was cute.

(You can see our nursery reveal here, by the way.)

I used the same general technique for this project as I did for my tree string art and this snowflake string art, but I’ll walk you through the full tutorial.

Nursery String Art Tutorial! This technique can be adapted to create any type of string art.

PROJECT SUPPLY LIST:

Disclosure: Affiliate links included. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • 1×4 cut into 6 segments at 36″ each.
  • Saw (I used my RYOBI miter saw) or you can have your wood cut when you purchase it.
  • Wooden yard sticks or thin scrap wood
  • Brad Nailer and 1/2″ brad nails
  • Wood glue
  • Overhead projector and Transparency film (or large printed template)
  • Sharpie marker
  • Pencil
  • Hammer
  • Brass escutcheon pins
  • Gray yarn
  • Sander (or sanding block/sandpaper)
  • Stain of your choice (We used Minwax Pre-Stain Conditioner followed by Minwax Special Walnut Stain.)
  • D-Rings

Step 1

Cut your 1×4 into 6 segments, each at 36″ long. I used my miter saw for this, but you can have your wood cut when you purchase it at the Home Depot, or just use a regular hand saw.

Cut your wooden yard sticks into 4 segments. (If you don’t want to use individual boards, you could also use a sheet of PureBond Plywood cut to the dimensions of your choice, like I did with this tree string art.)

Step 2

Position your boards parallel to each other and press them together, forming a large rectangle. Sand them and then use wood glue and brad nails to attach your yard stick segments to the back, perpendicular to the boards.

This will keep them all attached. I cut two of them a bit shorter and placed the longest ones on the outer edges.

DIY Nursery String Art

Step 3

Stain your wood. We used Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner followed by two light coats of Minwax Special Walnut Stain.

Step 4

Print the image of your choice (for my elephant, I googled elephant silhouette clip art — the same clip art I used for my hand painted nursery art which I will share with you soon), and then trace it onto transparency film with a Sharpie (if you are using an overhead projector).

Otherwise, simply have an enlarged print made, cut it out and trace it onto your wood. If you’re using a projector, trace your image onto the wood lightly with chalk or a pencil.

DIY Nursery String Art
DIY Nursery String Art

Step 5

Hammer your brass pins along the outline of your image, spacing them about an inch apart or so.

DIY Nursery String Art

Step 6

Tie the end of your yarn in a knot around one of the pins, and then randomly string it across the brass pins until you achieve the coverage you want. Tie off and snip the end when you’re finished.

Step 7

Attach D-rings to the back of the wood to hang it on the wall.

DIY Nursery String Art

I love string art, not only because I like how it looks, but it makes a big impact even though it is easy and inexpensive to make. This artwork fits perfectly above Jonah’s crib, and it’s something that can grow with him eventually when his room becomes a toddler or “big boy” room.

You Might Also Like:

  • Gender Neutral Nursery Reveal
  • Boys Bedroom Decor
  • 7 DIY Project Ideas for Kids’ Rooms
  • Hand Painted Nursery Art Tutorial
  • The 20 Toy Rule: How We Decluttered Our Playroom & Simplified Our Life
subscribe box post footer

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

-Erin

Filed Under: Art, DIY, Home & DIY Blog, Nursery, Popular Posts, Tutorials, Wall Decor, Woodworking

« Fresh and Beautiful Recipes for the New Year + M&MJ {88}
5 Valentine’s Day DIY Projects + MM&J {89} »

Comments

  1. Jennifer @ 2 Bees in a pod says

    January 19, 2015 at 12:42 pm

    Absolutely love how this turned out…so cute! I Love the walnut stain too 🙂

    Reply
    • Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says

      January 19, 2015 at 2:59 pm

      Thanks Jennifer!

      Reply
  2. Jessy @ The Life Jolie says

    January 23, 2015 at 9:53 am

    I love this! I really want to do something like this for xmas decor- Definitely pinning this!

    Reply
    • Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says

      January 23, 2015 at 2:30 pm

      Thanks so much Jessy!

      Reply
  3. vel says

    January 29, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    Awesome!!! thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Tina says

    March 13, 2015 at 3:13 am

    This is an amazing piece! I love it!! We have a little one coming and we might do this for her together. What do you think about using wires instead of yarn? Did you choose to use yarn because it’s more flexible?

    Reply
    • Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says

      March 14, 2015 at 2:53 pm

      Hi Tina! I think that wire would be more difficult to work with. If you used really thin wire, it might work, but flexibility is key. good luck! I’d love to see it if you end up making one!

      Reply
  5. Chris says

    December 3, 2015 at 2:39 pm

    This is great! I’m doing this as christmas presents for my siblings.

    One thing to note with this design and similar ones: You’ll want to make sure to go around the whole design with string to close off all the gaps. This was done in this design and I’m sure you’ll see it pretty obviously when you’re looking at it thinking you’re done but I just wanted to add this in case people didn’t notice it or in case the author wants to adjust her instructions to add this 🙂

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Tracey says

    March 6, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    Did you also make the hanging leaf mobile? If not where did you get it?

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      March 6, 2016 at 5:21 pm

      I did make the mobile, and you can find the tutorial here: http://diyonthecheap.com/diy-crib-mobile-tutorial/ Thanks!

      Reply
  7. Alyssa says

    March 9, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    This is adorable. I am featuring this on my site if you don’t mind.

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      March 9, 2016 at 7:24 pm

      Thank you! That would be great. I appreciate it!

      Reply
  8. Roberta says

    March 13, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    How fun would this be! The possibilities are endless. I am sharingthis on Pinterest

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      March 13, 2016 at 6:04 pm

      Thank you, Roberta!

      Reply
  9. Josie says

    July 21, 2016 at 10:19 am

    What size brass pins did you use? I’m having a hard time finding a good size.
    Thanks
    Josie

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      July 21, 2016 at 10:30 am

      I used 3/4″ brass escutcheon pins.

      Reply
      • Josie says

        July 22, 2016 at 9:42 am

        Thank you! I found them and put one it and they work perfectly! Can’t wait to finish it up tonight!

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SHOP ERIN’S FAVORITES

SPONSORS & AFFILIATES

CATEGORIES

ARCHIVES

Copyright © 2025 Erin Spain. Log in | Privacy Policy