A fanatical twist on the state string craft

This craft was inspired by a Pinterest pin and that used white string and nails. It was also inspired by my friend, Julianna, when she made one for her hometown state of West Virginia. She said it was really easy and when I saw it, it was super cute. She used white string and nails, but (I think) she painted the background.

Now, if you read about the DIY football wreath, you are aware of the football division in this household...again, when I make a craft, I do feel I need to incorporate both of our loves (because we are both quite fanatical about our teams)

Anyway, I made this for our 5th wedding anniversary because for the 5th year the present is wood. (I don't know about you, but I think those things are kind of silly...but this was a good excuse to make a craft)

So, I used the Steelers colors for the western side of PA (where I'm from) and Eagles colors for the eastern side of the state (where he is from). Now, the heart was suppose to be over Elizabethtown, PA (where we met in college), but it ended up closer to King of Prussia (where we lived after we got married). Either way, it signifies our coming together even if we root for different teams.

For this project, you need...
*piece of wood (mine was from Michaels)
*nails
*hammer
*string (colors are up to you...all white is easier!)
*print out of the state
*scissors
*pencil
*optional: paint for the background

How To:
Traced the state of PA on the wood.
Hammered in the nails on the pencil outline. (Barkley, my dog, was not too keen on this step)
Then, I alternated the nails with the colors of the team (gold, black, gold, etc)
I didn't cut the string until I decided I was done with the color. Then, I just simply knotted the string (it wasn't easy...you really need to have tiny fingers)
The worst part of this entire project was the HEART.
Trying to nail the heart in was hard to get the nails in such a small space. (if I did this again, I would make the heart a little bit bigger)
And, the red thread was also very hard, again because it was such a tight space.

If I had to do it again, I would paint the background. Also, I would Modge Podge some sort of saying on it.

FYI....this project does not move well. When I took it out of the moving box, some of the strings had broken and some nails were missing. I was able to fix it and now I need to figure out where I want to put it. It was way too much work to throw out!

If you don't want to bother with making your own, you can buy one from me! Completely customized to you! Order Here: My Etsy Shop: Barkley's Bazaar