Under Ten Project Series

As with my cheap meal series, I also like to make crafts, but I am sometimes short on cash. So this series includes some projects that are lots of fun and are cheap to make. Again I found all of these things at my local Walmart because I am a savvy shopper who enjoys a bargain.

Hammer and Nail Art in the shape of Batman!

You are welcome to make whatever shape you would like but here are the basic needs.

Shopping List:

• One Wood Plaque - rectangular 4.95 + tax
• One box of "Small head wire nails" .97 cents/box
• One spool of black sewing thread 1.97
• One spool white sewing thread 1.97

(As with the shape you are welcome to use whatever color strikes your fancy.)

Also need:

• One regular claw hammer (I did not purchase one but they are fairly cheap and easy to find).

Step One

Pick your shape! Batman, Spiderman, Deadpool, names, letters, whatever your heart desires. I chose Batman because I collect Batman merchandise. But letters are the next idea I have in mind.

Step Two

Sketch your shape with pencil on the plaque. It works best if you have a picture for reference. I started by marking lines horizontally and vertically in the direct middle of the plaque so that my Batman would be symmetrical. If you make a mistake, you can easily erase.

Step Three

Hammer in nails a half inch apart until you've gone all the way around your design. It helps to start on one of the points of whatever design you have chosen and work clockwise. Watch your fingers!

Step Four

Grab your string and start wrapping around the nails. Go back and forth. Go sideways. Go up and down. Go left to right. Go right to left. Go crazy and totally random. You will need to wrap around the head of the nail once or twice for each new loop at first to get things to stay properly. The more string you use, the better the project is going to look. I used all 50 yards of both threads.

Step Five

Occasionally push the thread down to maximize depth of string coverage. It will be hard to do that all at once, so put your finger in between one nail at a time and gently push down.

Step Six

Tie off ends and hang somewhere you can see it daily! Be proud of your craft. It is unique because you made it.

Expert Mode

Paint the edges around your design with acrylic paint to add depth to the project. Can paint a solid color or add a small design that matches your shape. My husband suggested this idea and it seems brilliant to make the design look complete and waste none of the plaque on which the string rests.

Time Estimate for project completion: One hour -two hours. It takes a lot of time to hammer in all the nails, especially if you haven't used a hammer in a long time. The string looping part takes much less time, so if you were to be making a couple designs at once, you could do all the hammering at once and then do the looping all at once.

This project was a lot of fun. It was a good stress reliever for me with all the nail pounding. The best thing about this project is it only cost me $9.86 + tax which comes to about exactly $10. These make a great gift for someone in your life. I'm sure you will love this project and I would love to hear what pattern you chose and what color you wrapped around those nails.