How to: make jewelry display pads

Ok, I promised you a post about how I made my rustic display pads for craft shows and here it is!

Back of a finished board

They're actually really easy to make and you can choose whatever fabric you prefer to fit with your style. I'd recommend using a dark colour for bright silver (and maybe gold) jewelry, though if you're trying to stay away from the traditional look avoid dark blue, black, green or red velvet! I personally love the look of raw silk and, had my budget been higher, I might have used it instead of burlap.

Anyway, start with some boards of wood in whatever sizes you prefer. I used plywood around 1cm thick, I bought some 2' by 4' boards and got the nice people at Lowe's to cut it for me. You can get away with using stuff as thin as about 5mm but thinner than that and you risk the staples poking through.

Buy enough fabric to cover the front of each board with at least 2 inches spare all the way around every piece. Buy enough wadding/batting (UK/US) to cover each board with a double thickness, no need for any spare on this one.

Cut your fabric and padding to size and lay them out on a flat surface. Lay the fabric down first, then lay the padding on top, roughly in the middle. Finally lay your wood board on top, lined up with the edges of your padding.

Use a staple gun to staple the fabric to the board. Start by folding the top over onto the back and stapling it in the centre. Do the same with the bottom, gently pulling it tight. Repeat with a centre staple on each of the sides. Continue stapling the rest of the fabric, working outwards from the staples you already put in, moving to a new side after every 2 staples and stretching tight as you go.

When you reach the corners, fold in the spare fabric so it all gets secured under the staple. It doesn't really matter how you do this, so long as it is secure, as no one will see the back. That's it, done! You can buy those special double pins or just use normal pins to secure things to the boards. Earrings are even easier - just poke the end of the earwire into the fabric.

I'll have a post, about making my display risers and how I attached my display boards to them, ready in a few days time so stay tuned.

Finished display board