Wednesday, April 23, 2014

diy medal display

my one and only sweet girl has become a bit obsessed with gymnastics. if she's in the house, she lives on her hands. cartwheels, handstands, back handsprings, and splits are a constant in our house. she started competing in gymnastics this year. while we are still getting used to the costs of all these gymnastics endeavors, we are embracing her absolute love for the sport. she managed to accumulate quite a few medals over the last year and we had them hanging from every possible location in her bedroom, stuffed in her drawers, and at times worn around the house by her little brothers. it was time to get organized. 
here is our solution to our medal dilemma. if you have a little athlete of your own, it can be altered for a boy or a girl and it takes up relatively little wall space. here's what you need to do:

diy medal display

purchase a pre-cut wood board. i purchased our board at michael's for about $15.00. the larger the surface area, the better. 
stain the board with your desired color of wood stain. i wanted a white washed look so i chose this particular wood stain. it gives a white color to the wood while still showing some of the wood grain.
purchase a stencil for your display, a stencil brush and come craft paint. i purchased this crown stencil on etsy. you can find it here. center the stencil on the board and, using the stencil brush, tap the paint onto the board in a thin coat. 

using the same brush, i used the paint that remained on the board to outline the stencil to give it a little more definition on the board.
allow the stencil paint to dry completely. carefully paint the board with a polyurethane top coat. to keep the stencil paint from smearing, i put the topcoat over the sides of the board completely first and then lightly painted over the crown stencil paint.
purchase pre-cut wooden letters from a craft store. i liked these letters from michael's because they are tall and thin. each letter should be painted. i chose pink, of course, for my sweet girl's pink bedroom. when the painted letters are dry, glue them into place. i used basic elmer's glue to put them in place and allowed the glue to dry well. 
measure the board and place pencil marks two inches apart along the bottom of the board. do the same a second time approximately an inch and a half above the first row, with holes alternating within the other holes.
purchase hooks. we found ours at home depot in the garden section. drill pilot holes where the pencil marks are. make holes slightly smaller than the hook diameter. screw in each of the screws so they are facing up and are able to hold the medals.
drill a 1/4 inch hole in each corner about one inch from the edge of the board. thread through a ribbon matching the painted letters. tie a knot to secure the ribbon on each side of the board.
tie a ribbon bow at the top of the ribbon and hang in a secure location. medals can be hung 5-6 per hook. hang and enjoy! no more medals flung around the bedroom!



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