Did you all have a wonderful weekend?  I’m fighting another cold, so I stayed close to home – got some online Christmas shopping done, braided a lot of dolls’ hair, and worked on some Christmas dresses.  Fun, fun, fun!

Last week, I introduced you to my Wrapping Station Central and today I wanted to show you a few more details that we didn’t get to discuss previously.  Specifically, I wanted to share how I built the wrapping paper rack and the framed chicken wire card display.  Both were fairly simple to put together.

How to Build a Wrapping Paper Rack

For this project, I used two corbels ($10 each) and found a size that had enough height that I could fit 2 dowels down the back.  I also used two 3/4″ wooden dowels ($3 each), 3/4″ flat trim molding (scrap), and one 47.5″  long, 11″ deep pre-cut board ($5).

I used a hole saw attached to the drill to make two vertical indentations on the inside of each corbel, then used a chisel to dig out the excess wood.

On one side, I also added small blocks of wood with a partial circle cut out – I made these cut outs by drilling with the hole saw about 2/3 of the way in from the edge.

I probably could have just cut four of these blocks and glued them to each side of the corbels without drilling the indentations, but I was figuring it out as I went along and had already drilled the holes – you can do it however you prefer.

Use wood glue (and a nail gun for extra strength if you’d like), to attach the molding to the front and side edges of the shelf board.  Before attaching the trim, cut it down to size with mitered corners for a neat finish.  When gluing the molding in place, be sure the top edges of the molding are flush with the board; tape to hold it in place while it’s drying.

Cut the dowels down to the length that you’d like by holding up a roll of wrapping paper and adding a bit of length for fitting the dowels into the rack (I cut mine to 32.5″ long).  Add some paint to the wrapping paper rack if you like and then mount the corbels to the wall, making sure to space the two apart to accomodate the dowel length.  I simply plunked my shelf on top of the dowels, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a couple screws for stability by drilling them from the top down through the shelf and into the top of the corbels.

To make the chicken wire frame for pinning up holiday cards, I picked up an antique window frame – it was already missing the glass and cost me even less that way – this one was $8.  I nailed a few 1/2″,  flat head nails down each side of the back of the frame, leaving just a little room to catch the chicken wire underneath.  Then I cut a rectangle of chicken wire just a bit larger than the frame’s opening.  Wearing gloves, I hooked the chicken wire over the nails and then stretched it until I could hook the wire over the nails on the opposite side.  You could also use a staple gun to attach the chicken wire, as I did for my Kids Art Display Board.

 

Alright, that’s all for today.  Happy building!  Just a reminder that there are a couple really awesome giveaways going on right now – don’t forget to enter!!

Just four days left to enter the Sew Amazing giveaway – worth over $1000!  It’s not to be missed.

You have a GREAT shot at winning a $100 Visa Gift Card from Monterey Gourmet Foods – now that would sure help with the holiday shopping, wouldn’t it??