String Art DIY: Teaching kids how to use a hammer
Well these are strange times, huh?? We’re going on one full month of no school here and the range of emotions in one day is scary. It’s time to get creative with activities while also learning some essential skills. My daughter loves coming to my shop with me and is always asking to learn how to use tools. I have met so many adults who have no knowledge and have developed a fear of tools because of it. I hope to teach my children basic understanding of both hand and power tools to last them a lifetime.
What is a better way to teach than with a fun activity? Creating string art with small nails is the perfect, repetitive activity to be able to teach proper use of a hammer. I have added a few free stencil downloads below. You can also use any image with an outline!
Here is the supplies you will need:
Piece of scrap wood for a backer
Paint (if you’d like to paint the wood a different color)
Small nails (less than 1” long)
Paper stencil (here)
String
Hopefully you may have some of them at home, if you not you can visit my Amazon list here.
Step 1:
Make sure there are no sharp edges/splinters on the wood you are using. If so sand the edges down slightly.
Step 2: If you’d like it painted instead of natural wood, have your kiddo paint the backer and let it dry fully. We did two coats on ours.
Step 3:
Gather supplies. Make sure you are using a surface you can hammer on top of. Also, it will be a little noisy.
Step 4: Lay paper stencil on top of wood. Hammer one nail in on the line. Hammer in nails along the whole outline. Use this step to go over proper technique. When you begin, hold the nail between two fingers and gently tap it in enough that you can remove your fingers. Once you have done this, hold your face back from the design, and lift the hammer higher than before to do more powerful taps. Keep reiterating to your kids to keep your face back and safe, along with fingers. To try and hit straight from above. If the nail does start to bend towards the side, STOP hammering (for the sake of all fingers) and try to straighten it back up. Then lift the hammer and give it a few good whacks to get it secure. It is important to try and get the nails hammered in to the same height. The repetitiveness of this activity will reinforce good technique. Try to stay as calm as possible and repeat the same phrases. In my video I highlight what worked for my daughter.
Step 5: Once the outline(s) is done. choose your string color and tie it to one nail. Then, I simply went across the design, twisted around another nail and repeated this until I felt the design was “colored” in. Each template will be different so it can be a little trial and error to figure out what will work, but that’s part of the fun!
Step 6: Tie off the string to another nail, snip off the extra and behold your masterpiece!
Beautiful!
I’ve included a full video of the process below, with step by step instructions as well. I hope you enjoy this fun activity that encourages the safe learning of tools. I’d love to hear your feedback and see your masterpieces as well!