In the latest special Tips & Tricks issue of Creating Keepsakes, I read that next month Simply Renee is releasing a new floor model of their popular Clip it Up. I absolutely love the floor model Clip it Up, but not the price -- the MSRP is $230. So this weekend, my brother and I put the finishing touches on our homemade multi-tiered embellishment stand.
There are a lot of resources and tutorials available online on how to make your own embellishment hanger. Most of the tutorials are based on the concept of using lamp shades as your rings. The video that inspired our project was from MsKoolKat007 on YouTube. To build ours, we basically followed the format in the video below.
Once we had all the necessary supplies, the project came together in about two hours. And in terms of cost, we put together the whole unit for about $70. The majority of the cost was associated with the three lamp shades. I opted to buy them from Wal-Mart for $45. It could be done less expensively if you have spare lamp shades at home or pick them up second hand. For me, it was important that they matched, so I bought new.
If you attempt this project at home, here are a couple important things to keep in mind:
- Make sure you purchase lamp shades that have a spider support system. This means it will have a washer in the center and then at least three arms that are attached to the outer ring.
- Besides making sure it's a "spider" lampshade, you'll also want to pay attention to the strength of the metal. If it seems thin and flimsy, it will likely bend once you hang your embellishments. Once you load it up, all those stickers and alphabets are quite heavy!
- Avoid lampshades that have metal support bars between the top and bottom outer rings. If you purchase this style, you will have to cut off the metal support bars.
- Make sure your first purchase is your lamp shades. The hole in the center washer of the shade will dictate what size of threaded rod, washers, and nuts you will need. We brought the lamp shades into the home improvement store to test and make sure it all fit before making the purchase.
- Measure the tallest package that will hang on each tier and then add a few inches to determine the height of each tier. Some of my tallest packages are over 13 inches tall, so we made the tall tiers 18 inches. The top tier for little packages is 10 inches.
- In terms of stability, we placed numerous large washers on the threaded rod along the parts that are hidden by the PVC pipe. This helped add stability and reduce the amount of bending. A larger threaded rod adds stability too, so keep this in mind when selecting your lamp shade. You could also drill through the center metal washer of your lamp shades so a larger rod fits through. My version has a 5/16 inch threaded rod but ideally I think it needs to be even larger than this.
- Lastly, keep in mind that spray paint could transform the look of your stand. There are some great colored and metallic spray paints on the market, which you could use to personalize the color to match your space.
I definitely owe my brother a HUGE thank you for his help with this project. I am always amazed by his ability to build things from scratch and to brilliantly improvise as he goes. Power saws and wrenches are not my forte; I could not have made this without his help!
If you have any questions on how to make your own embellishment stand, please feel welcome to leave a comment and I will get back to you!
