DIY Ribbon and Trophy Display

It seems kind of weird and petty to write about fun DIY projects during a Pandemic, but maybe fun projects to work on at home is just what we need right now :) I did this project about two months ago when I was looking for a nice way to display our oldest’s growing collection of award ribbons and medals but couldn’t find a display setup that I liked or was remotely affordable.
The whole project was super easy and done start-to-finish within two days. Here’s hoping for things to go back to normal someday soon so she can continue to add to her award collection. | This post contains affiliate links |

Materials:

• lumber (I used a 1x8" board for the shelf top and 1x6" board for the back)
• two decorative shelf brackets (or two pieces of wood cut at 45 degree angle)
• dowel
• two small hooks (these are very similar to the ones I used)
• orbital sander or sandpaper
• screws
• stud finder
• level
• primer
• paint

How-To:

First decide how long you want the overall shelf to be (in our case I decided on making it 3ft wide). Then cut your shelf top to that length.

(Nothing is screwed in yet here… just laying everything out to make sure it will fit like I want it to.)

Next decide how wide you want the shelf back to be - remember that the self back plus the brackets should fall within your overall shelf top length. Ultimately how long you cut the shelf back is your preference though. But visually I think that the shelf back and the brackets look best if they fall within about 2 inches of the shelf top on each side.

(Side note: If you have a router you can cut a dovetail channel along the back of the shelf back now to make for easier hanging… I do not have one of those handy so I skipped this step and will hang our shelf another way.)

Once you have everything laid out, cut your dowel to about 1/8” less than your shelf back length so it will fit comfortably within that space.

After everything is cut, I recommend sanding everything first before you assemble. I love using our orbital sander - it makes for quick work and does a nice job.

Next start assembling. Screw the shelf supports to the backing first, making sure everything is lined up and flush.

Next carefully center the shelf top, making sure it’s flush with the back and screw in.

Now for the fun part - paint! I did one coat of primer and then three coats of semi-gloss white paint, though you could choose any color you wish. I like semi-gloss paint since it has a slight sheen to it and is easier to dust and keep clean.

For hanging - first I measured this wall side-to-side to figure out where the shelf should fall within that space to be centered. Then I marked the studs with a stud finder.

To be honest I usually use two different kinds of stud finders when I have to hang something - I use a magnetic stud finder first to identify exactly where the stud is and then a digital one to find the edges of the stud. I’ve found that sometimes the digital ones can be finicky so it’s nice to know where the studs are first rather than get a false stud reading when it could be something else (a pipe, a thick area of plaster on the wall, etc).

Then using a level to make sure the shelf was level, I screwed directly into the wall studs through the shelf back making sure to place the screws where they would be hidden by the dowel once I installed it.

Next I hung the dowel by centering it and adding a simple hook to support it on each side, as shown above (this also hides the screws I used to hang it). And now the project is finished and ready to display ribbons, medals, and trophies!

To hang the ribbons and medals you can easily lift the dowel up and string them on, or loop them around the dowel like I did here.

I hope you liked the project and we look forward to when this Pandemic is over and there will be sport and fair ribbon awards again - stay well!

UPDATE:

Years later our kids are still using the DIY Ribbon and Trophy Displays but they’re getting a little full. In order to spread things out a bit I bought these simple medal holders (similar one linked), so they could hang their medals on these and keep the DIY Display just for their ribbons/trophies. It’s working great!

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Luckily, we've always done 5x7 inch photo cards which fit perfectly inside a festive perfectly-sized photo album I found on Amazon. If you've done different sized or odd-sized cards through the years, it might make the most sense to use a big scrapbook to chronicle them. Just make sure to order an extra card to add to the album each year and cherish the memories!

Easy DIY Book Rails

In our daughter's small bedroom, space is at a premium.  We try hard to make the most of the space and keep the floor as open as possible to help the room feel a little bigger and give her more area to play.  On one wall of her room, there is a very shallow nook I wasn't sure what to do with but wanted to make it an efficient use of space.  After some thought, I decided building some custom book storage would be the perfect solution.  

Materials:  

• 1x3 boards

• 1x2 boards

• screws

• wood glue

• spackle

• level

• painters tape

How-To:  

1.  Cut the wood the desired length of the rail shelf.  You will need two 1x3 boards and one 1x2 board for each rail.  

2.  Line up the boards as shown below (the wide ones on the bottom and back, and the narrow one at the front).  Pre-drill, then glue the edges, and secure with wood screws.  

3.  Once it's dried and secure, spackle the screw holes, let dry, and then apply 3 coats of paint (I used semi-gloss trim paint).  

4.  Next mark the location of the studs and the approximate spacing of the book rails.  I could have easily put three rails in this space but I didn't want our toddler trying to climb it like a ladder, so I decided to only do two.  

5.  Center the book rails in the space and use a level to hang the book rails, pre-drilling and screwing the book rails into the wall studs.  

6.  Decorate and add your books!  While these are pretty sturdy, I would recommend being mindful of the weight put on the rails - don't put too many books or large, heavy books on them, especially since your little one will be reaching up to pull books off and you don't want anything heavy to topple off.  

And finally I decided to build a simple, sturdy narrow crate to hold our daughter's bigger, heavier books.  

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Other posts you might enjoy from Birch Landing Home:  

• Cape Cod Inspired Toddler Room

• DIY Learning Tower / Kitchen Helper, Based on Plans by Ana White

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