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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DIY Valentine Postcards - Perfect Project for Toddlers and Kids!

Last year I started the tradition of having our little one make Valentines for close family and friends.  This year I wanted to continue the tradition but find a way to make them as inexpensive as possible, and so I settled on the idea of DIY Valentine Postcards.  
| This post contains affiliate links |

Materials:

• non-glossy poster board

• finger paint

• toilet paper tubes

• tape

• ruler

• scissors

• sharpie marker

• paper cutter (optional)

• postage stamps for postcards

How-to:  

One of the reasons I decided to make postcards this year instead of traditional cards was, not only are postcards cuter, they cost almost 30% less to mail than a traditional card - these postage savings add up!  As a result, this project cost next to nothing to do.  I already had the paint, toilet paper rolls, rulers, etc. - I just had to run down to the local store and pick up a piece of poster board which cost a whopping 99 cents.  

The simple supplies

The how-to is pretty straight forward: use a ruler to measure and cut out your postcards (I made mine 4x5.5", but you can check here for more details on postcard requirements).  If you have a paper cutter that can come in quite handy to make quick work of cutting them out.  

Next use a ruler and a sharpie to create the back of the postcard, one line down the middle and then three lines on the right hand side for the address.  

Next let your toddler go to town!  I put down one card at a time to keep the backs clean from paint as well as to keep them from getting over-saturated.  To make the heart "stamp" I used toilet paper tubes bent into a heart shape and held together with tape.     

Once the cards were done I let our little one go crazy on the table covering.  

The cards drying - they came out pretty great!!  

I kept the backs very basic with a simple handwritten message and a little heart stamp.  

I hope you enjoyed this little Valentine DIY!  It was very quick and easy and the possibilities are endless when it comes to how you want to paint, color, or draw the front of the postcard.  

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Check out our other Valentine's Posts:  

• Toddler Art Valentines

• Apple Rose Tarts for Valentine's Day