Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Unique craft fair jewelry stands: Tutorial

UPDATE: I have added new fabric to my stands. You can find them here.

When designing my booth for craft fairs I struggled with the options that were available for jewelry stands. I couldn't find any I liked and wanted them to compliment my pendant necklaces and make a statement. I made twelve of these with different fabrics and am very happy with how they turned out. You can make something similar but but with your own flair and style.
Here is the tutorial:
Supplies:
  1. 1/2” thick particle board for the shield pattern
  2. 3/4” board for stand base. I used one that had a birch wood on the top layer for the grain.
  3. Fruit tree branches (they have a more condensed wood and will be strong). Or you could use anything that would be unique to your style.
  4. Screws and wood glue
  5. Paint for the back of the stands, your color of choice. I used some leftover bronze metallic patina glaze.
  6. Polyester batting or felt for the backing
  7. Fabric of choice for front of stands
  8. Hot glue gun and glue sticks, I used about 1 1/2 per stand
  9. Copper tape or other material to use for wrapping around border of stands and base
First draw the shield template on paper, then cut out. Next trace the template onto the 1/2” thick particle board, then cut out the templates with a jigsaw.









Paint the backs of the shields.














Cut out bases approximately 6” by 6” square. You can now cut the branches! This part is a bit tricky and you have to get it just right or the stands look funky. Make sure the branches are fairly straight and cut to your desired height. Where the top of the branch connects to the shield cut it at an angle, a table saw makes this easier. Then add some wood glue and screw the branches to base and shield.

The next step is to hot glue the batting and fabric to the stands. Don't be a goofball like me and grab the end of the glue gun, I had a few blisters for weeks! Hot glue the batting and then cut remaining off at the back edge.





























Then cut out and hot glue top fabric. Almost done! You just have to paint bottoms and then put material around the edges.












You can always update them with a new fabric if you ever decide to change your theme.





























Contact me if you have any questions!

Thank you for stopping by!