How to: Make Craft Fair Table Risers

I've been promising you this post for a while now so I figured it was probably time I got on with it!

I made these table risers a few months ago when I designed the setup for my table. I knew I needed to provide some elevation for my table but I wanted to do that as cheaply as possible in a way that also looked good.

I'm not really a fan of draping a tablecloth over upturned boxes so I looked around for alternatives. Eventually I came up with these upright display pads but I still needed a way to raise them above the stuff in front of them. I also wanted to be able to use the table space behind/under the risers for my tools and supplies.

The idea was really simple, I bought some long planks of pine from Lowe's (about 4 inches wide) and had them cut them into 2 foot sections for me. I also picked up a 2 inch wide piece and chopped it into 4 inch lengths.

• To make each riser you take 2 planks 4 inches by 2 feet and 2 pieces 2 inches by 4 inches. You also need some nails, wood glue and a heavy duty hammer. 
• Glue the 2 large planks together along their longest sides and add a few nails to pin them together while the glue dries. 
• You will now have 2 sides of a box, one will be 4 inches high and the other will be a little higher thanks to the addition of the other plank. Make the higher side the front and the 4 inch side the top then attach the other 2 pieces of wood to provide supports at the back.

At this stage you can stain, paint or otherwise finish the risers however you choose. I used a dark walnut wood stain which picked out the grain in the pine nicely and enhanced the rustic look.

My risers are more than just mini shelves, though. They are also the means by which my upright display boards remain upright and there are a few more steps to follow if you want yours to do the same.

• You will need a drill, nuts, bolts and some kind of corner bracket hardware with screws and holes in both sides. Bear in mind that you will be screwing into the back of your display pads so make sure your screws are short enough not to go all the way through to the other side, while still being large enough to not fit all the way through the holes in the bracket. Your bolts must also be able to fit through the holes but not all the way.
• Screw the bracket into the middle of display pad so it aligns with the bottom. You don't need to be very precise as the padding will even out any errors, I did mine by eye.
• Stand the pad on the riser where you will want it to be when you're all done and use a pen to mark where the holes are on the bottom half of your bracket.
• Drill holes where you marked, using a drill bit slightly larger than your bolts.
• That's it, you can assemble it by standing the pad on the riser and aligning the holes. Put a bolt through each hole from the top and then screw it tight with a nut from underneath.

Please note that this setup is by no means professional quality and I have no qualifications and only limited experience in woodworking/construction. I am happy with the support this setup provides to my boards but I wouldn't call it sturdy. I think it would be OK in windy conditions but could easily be pushed over by hand. I wouldn't use it for any fragile items. If you have any questions feel free to post them below and I'll do my best to answer them.

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

After the Fair

First I need to apologise for leaving you hanging last week. After the stress and lack-of-sleep from the craft fair I picked up a nasty head cold which is only just starting to go now. Whilst I didn't exactly take the week off, I did carefully prioritise what needed to be done and cut back quite a bit and the blog was one of the things which suffered.

Me, at my table, looking remarkably awake!

Anyway... how was the fair, you ask?

Well I was very pleased with it. It certainly wasn't the busiest fair I've ever seen but, for my first fair, I was quite happy with that! I did manage to make a profit, which was more than I was hoping for, and I was very encouraged by the number of customers I had on the Sunday who said that their mothers had seen me on the Saturday and sent them down!

A view of my whole booth

My booth display held up to the challenge and there weren't even any major changes I could think of to make for next time.

We put the banner above the window behind so people could still see it even if there were other people at my table. However, I'm not sure that was the best plan because I think it was a little too far behind my booth and a bit disconnected.

2 of my large, upright display boards

I loved the way my display boards turned out and how well my little, coloured price circles worked.

I do think one or two of my boards may have been a little cluttered and the actual arrangement of the jewelry on the boards is something I plan to work on. I will also be designing new jewelry with display in the back of my mind, to make sure my lines include some dramatic pieces to break up the boards.

Slatted, cedar boards

I wasn't sure anyone was going to sign my guestbook but I was pleasantly surprised to get a few :)

I loved the flexibility of the slatted boards and used them to display my business cards, coupon cards and informational signs. I also displayed a few of my stud earrings on their cards after I decided that they might be getting a bit lost on the burlap pads.

A last minute idea was to sprinkle some of the blank price circles across the table to add some interest and it worked really well.

Dried grasses in jars

My dried grasses were a great finishing touch, especially tying in with the name so well. My only problem with them is trying to keep our cat away from them so he doesn't rip them to shreds (and trail the seeds all over the house!).

The view from behind my table

Here you can see a little peak behind the scenes at the mess behind my table! My careful design for the risers worked really nicely. As you can see I was able to keep my tools, spare jewelry and packaging materials on the table but hidden away from view.

I have the post I promised you, about how to make the display boards and risers, planned for later on this week so keep and eye out for that if you are interested.

All in all it was a good experience and I feel much more prepared for future shows, now. I had help on both days from friends - many thanks to Abby Stopper and Ali Constantine who helped me all day and also to my husband who helped us setup and stayed for moral support on the Saturday. If you have any questions or comments for me, feel free to post them below.

Sneak Peek at my Craft Fair Display

I did promise you a look at my craft fair setup this week so here it is:

Craft Fair Booth Display

I don't have a long table at home so I've set it up on the base of our sofa-bed. The basic displays and table setup are finished but, as you can see, I haven't finished making all the colour variations of my items or working out where to display each piece yet. I also haven't finished the little touches - information signs, prices, decorations etc. You may also notice I haven't actually got a tablecloth yet either; in the picture I am using a sheet (too white and too small for an 8' table) and a stretch of brown kraft paper.


Enough of what I haven't done, though...

Burlap-covered display boards

I needed the display to be a fine balance of rustic and professional. I wanted it to be rustic to fit in with the style of my jewelry but I wanted to avoid also making it look cheap.

The display boards are very simple but I coated them with cream burlap, for a rustic touch, instead of the usual velvet. The light colour shows off the copper well, especially after it has tarnished a little. They also sell a darker version of the burlap which I may decide to use if I make a lot of silver jewelry later on.

I will be posting a tutorial on how to make display boards like these shortly, so look out for it if you are also designing a craft fair booth or thinking of updating one.

Distressed Easel from Morgann Hill Designs

I made most of my display myself but there were a few little touches which I bought. The 2 distressed easels supporting the 2 smaller display boards I bought from Morgann Hill Designs. They were expensive (they are designed for weddings) but they were definitely worth it. They are absolutely beautiful and I think they are one of those small details that make a big difference.

Distressed Napkin Ring from Turquoise Rollerset

I also bought these adorable distressed napkin rings from Turquoise Rollerset who specialises in distressed turquoise items. I have to say, if turquoise had fitted with my display I might have bought loads of things from there.

I stuffed the napkin rings with wadding (batting to US readers) and then covered the top with the burlap to turn them into cute little rustic ring holders.

Grape Wood Bangle Display

I probably shouldn't have paid for this one but I live in the city. It's a piece of grape vine wood which I painted white and distressed myself to use as a display for bangles. It's supported in a jam jar but I still need to work on a good filler for the jar.







Behind the bangle hanger you can also see my handmade table risers. I bought some pine planks and used them to make narrow shelves to raise up my display boards a little. I felt that some contrast was needed from all the white so I stained them a dark walnut colour and I think they still look quite rustic. They are actually not just shelves, I'm also using them to support my display stands so there is no chance of them falling over. I will write a post explaining how I did that and how to make the shelves in the next week or so.

Cedar Shelf covers from Lowe's

These cedar slats are designed to turn those wire shelves into smooth shelves suitable for storing a wider range of items. I painted and distressed these too and will use them for miscellaneous items which I will need to have on the table, such as business cards. Hopefully they will also make my table smell nice!





Anyway, sneak peek over. Since I don't have a table I probably won't lay out my full display again until I actually do a craft fair so you will have to wait until then to see the finished result of my hard work. In the meantime I'd better get back to making more colour variations for my jewelry.

Large Swirls Earrings in different colours

How to: Make your own necklace stand

I realised the other day that signing up for craft fairs and such was all well and good... but how exactly was I going to display my items should I get accepted for one?

As usual my husband listed my budget for display equipment as "as little as possible" so I decided to have a go at making my own from materials I already had in the house or materials I could obtain for free. I spent hours browsing google images for inspiration on unique and interesting display ideas and I will be investigating quite a few more over the next few weeks. However most of those require at least some spending and/or trips to other locations so for the moment I just have one basic idea to share:

1. Start by cutting out the basic shapes from corrugated cardboard - 2 circles, one sort of egg shape and 2 strips. The sizes are entirely up to you and they don't need to be very accurate.

2. Glue the pieces together (ordinary PVA glue is fine) so they form the correct shape. You can use just one strip to hold the top to the base but using 2 makes it easier to get the angle right.

3. Papier Mache over the entire shape, taking care to keep the definition between the central circle on top and the rest of the top. You can use wallpaper paste or flour and water glue for the mache but I prefer PVA glue heavily diluted with water. At this stage ordinary newspaper is fine.

4. There are several options for the final stage depending on the finish you prefer. I quite like the rustic look and it is difficult to escape it with papier mache anyway so I chose to coat the stand in further layers of white tissue paper and leave it at that. If your jewelry is bold you may prefer to leave it with the newspaper for a more unusual finish. If you prefer a colourful stand you can always paint it or use coloured paper instead. Note that the paper must be thin to allow it to fit the contours smoothly and also so you don't get thick bumps where it overlaps.


I fitted a piece of raised wire into the top of my stand to allow me to hook earrings over it as well, to better display matching sets. I also fitted a hook into the back so necklaces longer than the stand can be gathered behind the stand. The only issue I have with this stand is that it is very lightweight meaning it is quite easy to knock over. This could easily be fixed by putting something heavy inside the upright portion before macheing over it.

The finished stand is pictured displaying my Lilac Dream Necklace and Earrings which are available from my Etsy store.