And textural, as another painted thing would be too too many painted things in the immediate vicinity, given the hand-painted stripes plus also the hand-painted whoo-ha jiggity jam going on in the foyer area.

Somehow (???) heh string art came to mind.  But using twine for texture.

Here’s my supply list:

• painter’s tape*
• hole punch*
• twine* 
• panel nails, 1”, black*
• hammer*
• needle nose pliers*

Soooo, this could not have been any easier of a DIY really.

I kinda had a general design mapped out in my head so all I needed to do was recreate it.  You can definitely sketch ideas out on paper first.

First, using painter’s tape and a single hole punch, I popped little circles of tape out and stuck them on the wall where I wanted a nail.  Nice thing here was that I wasn’t marking the wall with anything, messily erasing pencil marks, and the dots were simple to rearrange.

Yep, just a hole punch through some painters tape for easy wall marks!

Handy tip really, for anything you want to put on a wall or whatever but think you might need to shift placement around a bit.  Yeah, you’re welcome!

After sticking up all my dots, it was time to get nailin’.

I chose panel nails for two reasons.  One, because these particular ones were black.  Hahaaa of course.  They come in various colors in fact, white, bronze-ish, blah blah, so choose as you wish.

The strangely big roll of twine and black panel nails for ya there, a-yep.

Honestly though, the heads are a wee small, they don’t register as the black dots as much as I’d hoped for but ah well.

Two, the nails have ridges so they're grippy-ier than regular nails.  Since they're merely hangin' out in 1/2" thick drywall, not much to hold onto.  Meaning, the ridges, they were less likely to wiggle while I was stringing them up and less likely to shift after.

Righty-o, so yes, after the painter’s tape dots and mapping out the wall, I hammered in the nails.

I would've shown you the dots but those photos were confusing and unclear.  Much like this one with the nails in the wall.

I used a pair of needle nose pliers* to hold the nails, ya know, less finger crushing ouchies and it was easier to handle the nails.

Bang bang bang. Bang, bang, bang bang bang.

Poor Finn was like, “jeez mom, what in the heck, that’s ow loud, I am outta here!”  Plus too, I moved his corner bed* which always makes him tweaky.


Next up, tie the twine end onto a starting nail and just string it all around.  Yep, easy as that!

And I know, holy sh*t, you're seeing me!  Me in action too!  Holy sh*t!


Tie off at the end and voila, super large wall-sized string art installation!

Sure if I take it down, there are a slew of miniature holes to patch but really, no biggie at all.*  They’re super tiny.

Mike gets home, ambles into the kitchen, looks across and sees….. “Uh.  What’s with the spider….the uh wall…..”


Looks at the wall.  Looks at me.  Looks at the wall.  Hands on hips.  Head tilt.  Body shift.  Slight head shake.  Looks at me.  Walks away.

Later on the couch:

B:  So uh you uh don’t like it, huh?

M:  Uh.   I….it’s not doing it for me.  You wanted me to be honest.

B:   Yes, I do.  But why don’t you like it?   Is it because it’s new or you just don’t like it?

M:  I think it’s best not to say anything more.

Or some such general statements were made along those lines.

Ouch.  Boy oh boy!  I’ll leave it up for a bit, see if it grows on him as I’m holding out hope that it does.  As is the case many a time.  (Please don't beat up on Mike if you disagree, I love him.)

Heh, ah well, you win some, you lose some!  I feel like I'm on a strikeout streak again lately; hopefully my luck will change.

Still, I think this is pretty cool project though and the possibilities in this idea are endless.  The twine, string, yarn, colors, shapes, patterns, nails....limitless possibilities.  Boundless creativity!


Would you try this?  How would you do it?

*The painter’s tape, hole punch, twine, panel nails, hammers, needle nose pliers, dog beds, and spackle are Amazon affiliate links.  Mwah, thanks!  Please see the “boring stuff” tab for more info.

Really it doesn't look different at all but it is.  It is.

By now the weather warmed up nicely, let’s move the party outside!

Task:  Install some simple solar path lights.

Between our porch light and the now overly-exposed street light thanks to our tree being horribly ax murdered (Pete the Sweeper admitted to calling the city for a trim setting the ball in motion therefore this catastrophe is on him [he hates trees]), we don’t need lights.*

But, I thought it might look nice as they are not unattractive.

Push stem in ground, done.  Sun, do yer thing.   [Days later: none are working, must investigate]

Cute, yah?  They will get destroyed by a certain four-legged beast though.

Task:  Drop in another stepping stone.

Heh, *cough, throat clear* since getting grass to fill in out front has been an arduous process and it never comes in closer to the edging, I opted to skootch the 4x4 edgers into the yard further.  Finn thinks it’s a wider footpath for him to trounce through and tinkle in.  Jerk.

Hahahaaaa, ok, was it an excuse for more pretty plant areas?  Ha, maybe?  Truly it was about the lack of grass though.

A little dirt scraping, plop, it’s in the gap.  Tuck dirt and mulch around it, looks like it’s been there all this time.

Lookie at all that new planting room!  I don't remember what that bushy is on the left, I'll have to iNaturalist it.  I should stain these darker, these stones.

Task:   Re-spike those 4x4 edgers.

Right, since I moved them, some of the stakes* broke or disintegrated enough to be unuseful.  No problem, just pound in new stakes, done.

Task:  Clean out the dryer guard.

I love Mike, like mad, I do.  He’s highly skilled at adding things to my to-do list though.

Walking along our awesome gangway concrete, he paused and said “hey babe, this thing is full of lint.”  Yeah ok, I know, it’s an annual task, yes.

A hot tip:  be sure to check around outside for all the little things that get neglected over the winter!

Using my spiffy new drill and free impact driver bits* (a birthday coupon from Menards) despite not having an impact driver (they’re just nice bits), I zipped out the Tapcon,* got the yucky crusty lint out, zip zip, done.

Counterclockwise:  Full before, the spiffy bit set, empty after.

Task:  (yeah I’m getting tired by this point but onward!)  Fix the jacked-up spigot situation.

The dumb flipper people overly patched around the spigot so it’s difficult to screw anything on to it.

And while this little extension thingie* works to tip the end out, it tips this Split It Deluxe hose splitter way out, too out, but so it is.

That Split It is guaranteed to never leak.  Gee, guess what, it’s leaking out of every possible spot.

Counterclockwise:  Before, jammed.  Extender.  Spigot with plumbers tape,* extension with tape, and done!

Task:  Replace the front hose sprayer.

Yeah, the splitter* is there because I’m too lazy to drag one hose back and forth.

I left the sprayer* attached to the front over winter which was a way bad idea.   That thing became a sprinkler, holes everywhere.  I feel bad as my parents had that sprayer forever; I leave it out one winter and it’s ruined.

Old sprayer, so sad I'm so sorry.  New sprayer from Menards.  And hose with more plumbers tape.  I like that tape, what can I say.

Task:   Figure out the dripping situation over the front porch.

Mike likes to let Finn out front to do his, you know, dog business (aka holler at everyone).  When it rains, Mike gets dripped on despite our efforts to make the porch a drip-free zone.

So I crawled up there after making some long faux shims out of cedar, only to discover that the ends of the HDPE curled up a bit, screws were broken.

Wish me luck!

Hm.

So I slipped the faux shims in, tacked down the HDPE.  Fingers crossed.

Task:  Wildflower seed.

I’d been turning over all the grass out front out front, the parkway, in an effort to spread wildflower seeds.  Task completed but I came into more seed.

I expect to be annual-less this year so most planters received seed, including the ones on that weird balcony so that visit was twofold.  The remainder went in the parkway so hopefully it will be a super thick, crazy bounty of wildflower goodness this summer.

Repeating image, apologies.  Clockwise top left:  re-staking the 4x4 edgers, adding the stone, front updated and seed in place.

Task:  Fix back storm door squeak. 

I know, hang in there….

Brand new squeak, as of that day.  Of course.  WD40* in all the hinges, done and done.  That door closer, yep, winner!!

Squirt.

Task:   Clean the siding mold.

Happens every year, the north side vinyl siding turns green.  Yuck, horribly unsightly.

Spritz on some Simple Green* (even outdoors this crap gives me the coughs, jeez), let it sit a minute, scrub, rinse, gone.

Counterclockwise from top right:  Ew before.  Scrubby scrubby.  After, improved.

Task:  Hit the showers.

No photos, you're welcome.  Man, along with oodles of laundry, that was a day.  I was wiped.  It sure felt good though.

Last task:  Relax on the deck with Mike post-grilled-dinner, chit chat over a glass of wine.

Yep, later I slept like a rock.  Probably snored.

Oh!  Variety Pack recipe:  bake this bread.  Or, bake this suuuper easy chocolate goodness!

*The storm door clips, paint thinner, scrub pads, tung oil, sandpaper, sanding blocks, stainless steel cleaner, solar path lights, wood garden stakes, impact driver bits, Tapcons, spigot extender, plumbers tape, hose splitters, wand hose sprayers, WD40, and Simple Green are Amazon affiliate links.  That's a lot of shopping.  Mwah, thanks!  Please see the "boring stuff" tab for more info.