but first… what do I hear? Is it a rotary sander?

Why yes! Yes I think it IS a rotary sander… which means… it must be… THE SANDING BANDITO!!!

Okay, it’s not really a bandit, it’s just the Captain and his rotary sander, sanding All The Things.

Remember, kids, Captain Sexypants says, “Safety first.”

So… say you want to make some hanging wall displays for your booth and you are on a budget. Say, you are not sure if you want to hang necklaces or earrings, but you want the versatility of being able to choose either. This is a handy little display (nothing original, there’s a million like ’em on Etsy) that gives you a lot of options for showing off your work.

You will need:
Frames of whatever size you want.
Garden mesh (chicken wire, it comes in different sizes/shapes).
Wire snips or some kind of cutting device.
A staple gun.
Staples.
D rings for frames
ribbon or chain for hanging.

First, the frames. Old frames, new frames, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Find something you like that matches your booth aesthetic. In my case, I’m going for “Enchanting antique shop where Fleur Delacour might shop.”

Aaron Bros was having a sale, and I had a coupon, so I picked some new frames. I didn’t want to go matchy matchy, my shelving is fairly dark, and I wanted to lighten things up a bit so I went with light, distressed frames with a little bit of metallic sheen here and there.

1. Take off the plywood panel on the back, and then remove the glass. CAREFULLY.

Now, you want to get some garden fencing or chicken wire. I’m not sure what they call it, it’s wire mesh and you get it at Home Depot or any hardware store that carries fencing.

2. Cut it. With the snips. I double dog dare you not to swear. Okay actually first you want to figure out how big to make the mesh. I used the frame as a reference, figuring I’d want about 1/2 – 3/4 of an inch of mesh overlaying the hole, on the back of the frame.

No really. NO swearing.

Okay fine, you can swear. I did. Repeatedly. Just persevere and eventually you will get through it. Or, in my case, Captain Sexypants will figure out a faster and more efficient way to do it that doesn’t involve scratches, puncture wounds and naughty words.

3. You want to put the mesh on the back of the frame, lining up the horizontal wire with the line of the frame. You don’t want it crooked. You also want it fairly tight.

4. use your staple gun to attach the mesh securely.

it is very simple.

Next post will show you how the back side of the frame looks and how we attached the staples, how to attach the D ring hangers so you can suspend it from a hook or a bar (you might also just want to put it on an easel on a shelf), some cute and decorative S hook options and pendant hangers, plus some ways you might display things on your new frames. Here you go, Part Two.