Ring Display Tutorial

I am going to be participating again at the Artist's Market during next month's Art Hop in about two weeks. I had a great time last month I participated and I am expecting to have another stellar evening this time as well! With that said, if you've ever tried to sell your wares at an event, you know its hard sometimes to get people to reach into their wallets and shell out some dough--- even if they like it. I always like to have some things priced for a dollar, everyone will buy something for dollar! A few weeks ago, I bought 420 gold metal rings with rhinestones glued in them for only $10.00. I originally bought them as pirate loot... but then I got to thinking.... at a dollar each thats $420 minus the $10 initial investment. Whoa, that is a whole lot of "dollars." So, with that thought in mind, I was needing some kind of ring display! Here is what I've come up with... I just love it! It was super easy to make although it was time consuming-- which is hard for those of us who need love immediate results.
 
Here is a Tutorial on how I made it if anyone is interested in creating one yourself. It was very easy to make.

Here is a list of things you'll need to create your own ring display.

1. A frame
2. foam core board
3. foam pieces approximately 1" in diameter and a long enough length to fit snuggle from side to side in the frame you've chosen. (you can glue the foam together to create longer pieces, that is what I did)
4. glue gun and glue sticks
5. fabric of your choice. I used a velveteen fabric.
6. felt or decorative paper to give the backside of the ring display a nice finished look.

 First, measure and cut a piece of foam core board to fit inside the frame your wanting to use. You will be using this as the foundation for your ring display to glue the foam and fabric to.

Next, cut your foam into long strips. I cut mine into 1" x 1" the entire length of the foam I was using, which was about 12" long.  I had to glue some foam together to create long enough pieces to fit my frame from side to side. 

Once the foam was cut into usable pieces, I simply started laying the pieces into the frame from edge to edge of the frame... the entire width and length of the frame. I had to taper some of the ends of the foam to follow the curving oval shape of the frame before laying them into place. The foam cuts easily with scissors.

 Once that was finished, I numbered each piece in the order that they were laying. Once numbered, I then took them out of the frame all but a small section in the middle..... As you can see below, I drew a line where the edges of number 7 thru 12 were. This gave me a guide for gluing the foam back into place, keeping everything lined up nicely.

Next step.... the glue and fabric. Do not put any glue on the top of the foam, all of the glue will be added to the bottom of the foam and the foam core board only. I began by gluing down foam strip #7 to the foam core board, I then ran a line of glue along side of the foam onto the foam core board to hold the fabric in place. I laid the blue velveteen fabric down and pushed it into the glue. Once the glue had a chance to set up, I laid the fabric back on to itself so it was out of the way, and then I glued down foam piece number #8.
 
I used a piece of scrap foam core board to keep the hot glue from burning my fingers as I pushed the velveteen fabric snuggle against the foam to create a nice even taut finish. At this point it is just a matter of repeating those steps to compete the ring display.... again, you just move the fabric out of the way, glue down the foam, run a bead of glue down the edge of the foam... pull over the fabric and using your scrap of foam core board press into the glue while pulling the fabric taut. Easy peasy.....

Here you can see the beginning stages of the ring display taking shape. Keep about an inch of excess fabric hanging over each edge. This will be used later to finish off the display piece.

 I did the same procedure all the way across the frame to the opposite side. Almost finished!
 
Once all of the foam has been secured to the foam core board and covered with fabric, you have to clean up the sides so that the entire foam/fabric display piece fits neatly into the frame you've chosen. Pull the foam covered fabric piece you've just created out of the frame through the back. This next step is crucial as if you don't get it laying nicely around the edges--- you run the risk of the display piece you've just made not fitting in the frame you've chosen. Take your time, and start pleating the fabric and pulling it snugly down to the edge of the foam core and using hot glue attaching it to the foam core board. Just keep it smooth, not to bulky.... and you'll have no problems. Once the edge is looking nice, simply cut off the extra fabric and your all done. The edge will be covered by the frame, but it has to lay flat and cannot be bulky or it will not fit inside your frame.

 Once that was finished, I placed the frame over the velveteen ring display. Looking good FABULOUS!

 Lastly, I turned the display piece over and I ran some hot glue between the edge of the frame and the foam core board to keep it securely in place. At this point, you could either add some paper or felt to finish off the backside of this ring display....

There you have it, an easy--- super cute ring display!

 big hugs,