String State Outline

I've seen this idea on Pinterest for such a long time now, and completely forgot that I'd planned to make it for a friend's wedding last year.  Cue the recent Pinterest party and I finally got my belated butt on that project.  Because it was an unrequested gift, I opted to go smaller and made an outline on a little plaque from Michaels (about 5x7 in size?), using one of her wedding colors for the string color.  She was married in Seattle, and absolutely loves Washington state, so using that as the basis for the outline was a no brainer. 

Supplies

• Wooden board, plaque, or other sturdy surface to serve as the base
• Finishing nails (will vary depending on size of surface and state to be outlined; I used a few dozen here)
• Hammer
• Thin string (I recommend string on a sewing bobbin)
• Printout of state to use as guide

Directions

1. Center state outline on base, preferably with a small piece of tape on the back to keep it in place.  Hammer finishing nails along the edge, against the paper outline (but not nailing into the paper).  Make sure to hammer in deep enough that the nails won't wobble or come out of place while you work with them later.  Space closely and evenly.
2. Carefully remove paper outline once nails are in place, and nail a heart pattern over the city of choice (state capitol, where a couple was married, hometown, etc.).
3. Tie one end of string around a nail, below the head so it will stay in place.  Extend string out in a sunburst pattern to the outer edges, twisting around each nail so the string stays in place.  Move on to the next nail in the heart when things start to get a bit crowded.  When you reach the final nail, tie the string to the last nail to secure in place.  

[Note: You'll see some extra clumpy parts in mine.  I didn't use string from a bobbin- I used embroidery thread that I had cut into long pieces, so I had to tie off those pieces several times before the outline was done.  I recommend the bobbin because you don't have to try to guess any length and separate out one thread from a bunch like I did with the embroidery thread.  You'll just have a nice, continuous length.]