So excited for today’s project! I have caught the crystal fever, not the kind where you become so obsessed that you blow millions on them like our good friends Speidi (did you know that they are still married?!) but obsessed enough that I want the design everywhere.
Finding affordable, inspiring art for your house is somewhere that a lot of people (myself included) come up short. It seems like time and again you have the option of unique and inventive art that is uber pricey. Or boring and well…boring and is readily available.
Creating art for your house with elements that inspire YOU, is one of the best ways to build your creativity. And the good news? Its not permanent, so if you have rapidly changing design hormones, you can change it up as often as you need.
Supplies for this Geode String Art project cost a meager $1.59. That is what I spent on a roll of Embroidery Thread. Everything else I had on hand. Sometimes great art does not have to be expensive.
When you are rockin a project like this, you want to make sure that you are using really thick high quality paper. I used Watercolor paper because it is what I had on hand and I am mildly obsessed with the texture. If you want though, you can totally use poster board, foam core, or even fabric.
Start by finding an image that you love. This is mine. (Thanks Jamie!!)
Notice that there are only a few points that all of the lines meet. This is what gives it the crystal structure design. If your lines are all over the place with no rhyme or reason, it just doesn’t have the same effect.
Start by marking where your intersection points are. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you can absolutely free hand it.
Poke a small hole in each of your marks with your needle and then start threading your design.
Make sure that the thread only crosses each line on the front once, you can overlap as many times as you need to on the back of your project, but keep the front beautiful.
This is a great project to do while you are catching up on, oh…something like Breaking Bad for instance. I am only on Season 3 and everyone in my life is telling me to hurry and watch it so we can discuss.
Now for the REALLY good part.
Have you ever fallen down the blogging rabbit hole? You know where you click somewhere and it takes you somewhere else, and then that takes you somewhere else and so on, until your kids are screaming at you because they are starving? I know that personally, I have gotten into the habit of living in the DIY bubble and don’t regularly read blogs outside of this niche. Everyone that I chatted with about this phenom is in the same boat. So one night (really really late) I got to thinking. I was thinking about all of these amazingly talented people that are queens of their own respective niches and how much I loved what they were doing. And how people just didnt know. Then it hit me like a wall of bricks (rainbow of course)
What if everyone came together with a common element?
An element like color.
Introducing the quarterly Color Challenge. Dun dun dun duuuuun!! 7 amazing bloggers working their respective magic with one specific color. Then it is all prettied up and delivered right to your keyboard. Everything from parties (Studio DIY) to makeup (Maskcara), and cookies (Bake at 350) to kids crafts (Small Fry). And of course fashion (Cara Loren) to furniture (yours truly) to organizing (iHeart Organizing).
I am so excited about it I cant even contain myself.
It is like Christmas with a big fat pink bow. Pink because it is the color for this quarter. More specifically Hot Pink. Hope you guys find inspiration for every aspect of your life.
Oh, and please enjoy the rabbit hole. You have my permission to not do laundry today.
What an awesome idea to have a color challenge and naturally you rocked it 😉
I do fall down the blogging rabbit hole on a regular basis by the way. So bad that I think I need an intervention.
Amazeballs!
Gemma
fadedwindmills.blogspot.co.uk
I love this Mandi! I am so doing it. I have a whole basement to decorate and this is calling my name. xo em
A. I just love you.
B. This project! I’m always struggling to find art for our house…and I think I can DO this!!!
C. You are so, so right about getting “stuck” reading only one blogging niche. It actually dawned on me when I was doing this project. I love home stuff, I love fashion, I love makeup, etc. etc….WHY am I only reading about FOOD?!? This was awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for the rabbit hole! Can’t wait to check this ladies out :).
Do you know what I love to embroider on? Canvases! It’s already a piece of art when your finished and you don’t even need to frame it! Just hang it up or put it on a shelf and you’re set. Love the simplicity of the faceted shapes! I’m digging them!
Awesome idea! Would look great at a larger scale too 🙂
Super fun! And love that it wan’t something crazy expensive. Embroidery is such an under used art form.
Good idea!
you’re a genius mandi!! thank you for having us!!
xoxo
I love this string art project, Mandi! And so excited to be a part of this color challenge. It’s so cool to see how everyone used the color in their own niche!
I love how they turned out. I think I may need to copy for my little 5 year olds room! Thanks for the inspiration!!
This is why I love you and your blog: you are a genius, you’re extremely creative, you have fantastic ideas and you execute them soooo well (diy, interiors, graphic design, social connections). Thanks for everything you do. You’re a total inspiration to me 🙂
[Sure, that was really gushy, but it has to be said]
What an awesome idea!! I too get lost in the rabbit hole:) Looking forward to expanding my reading a bit!
xo, amy
This is so cute!!! I love doing string art and this looks like such a simple pattern, but has amazing impact!
-Becca
Ladyface Blog
So simple yet so genius! Way to go my talented friend!
So cute, I love geometric art but with a whole house to decorate I’m procrastinating because I can’t afford it. This is a must try, thanks Mandi!!
need to know more about miracle- a bit of a love at first ” site” . DId you make that chair and is there anyway we can have a tutorial on how to cover chairs or anything in that fabulous fluffy stuff? I need a miracle too!
Oh my goodness it looks amazing! I absolutely love the color scheme! Fantastic job 🙂 thanks for sharing!
You are a genius! LOVE this! It’s so beautiful and fun and wonderful! I want this room, too! 🙂
This is so cute! I did a row of 3 different shapes to hang in my bathroom and it looks so cute.. Thank you Mandi your awesome .. 🙂
Holy Crap!! This is so amazing!!! I will for sure have to make one of these for our new home.
You inspiring little devil you! Here is my take…thank you for giving me an art piece that wasn’t a saying or photo. I adore you! 🙂
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Oops! No image. Oh well. It’s still a fantastic idea!
This is a great, quick, and easy project for adding some artwork to any space. Love it! I’ve been curious about maybe embroidering some photos to use as artwork. I have plenty of Instagram photos that need to be spruced up before I would consider framing them.
https://stampington.com/Somewhere-Beyond-the-Sea-Rustic-Pallet-Project