I love Florida - a craft with thread

I love spending time on Pinterest and Etsy looking at crafts that people have spent blood, sweat and tears on to create.  People are so much more creative than I am.  Not just a few people, but a LOT of people.  I think I have it in me to be creative, but I never developed it as a kid (I get embarrassed very easy and any criticism as a kid kept me from trying new things).

I saw this listing on Etsy and fell in love immediately.  She does amazing work.  I am a Floridian living in Atlanta.  Not only that, I'm a Florida Gator living in Bulldog country.  As much as I wanted it, I don't have $80 to spend right now on art.  There are just too many trips this year, and it's only January!  I decided I would try to re-create her art myself.  You can see from my picture above, it's not as organized and precise, but it's close.  Close enough for my house.

My first step was to find the plaques.  I tried Home Depot, no luck, so I went to Michaels.  It was by far the most expensive part of the project at $8.  I then painted with some acrylic paint that I already had on hand at the house.  Once painted I printed out an outline of the state and placed it where I needed it on the plaque.

I began following the border with my nails.  I used nails 1/2 an inch long.  I drew the University of Florida's F on to the area above Gainesville and nailed there as well.  The HARDEST part of the project.  Once all the nails were in I thought it looked pretty great!

Then it was time for the string.  I found a 750 yard spool of orange thread to use inside the state.  I learned that my nails weren't deep enough into the wood as I needed them to be.  Once I started stringing the orange a few of the nails that had a lot of pressure on them started to lean to one side.  I had to cut it all out and restart.  Another note, nailing into the paper leaves little paper scraps once you pull it away.  You can't really tell from far away or in the pictures, but I know they're there close up.  Next time I'll probably try pressing the outline into the wood and following that instead of using the paper.

I love the way it turned out, however next time I'll probably choose an easier center object - maybe a heart.  Maybe something else.  I'll give another one or two of these a shot.  It's a lot of fun and they are pretty unique pieces of art.

Any thoughts on what I should make next?  I have three more plaques at home.