How to Make Upcycled Display Stands from Old Cups and Saucers

Materials

• Plates, saucers, cups, bowls, and vases (Check out your local thrift store.)
• Glue (I suggest Weldbond or E-6000.)
• 1 can of spray paint (I used Krylon Dual Spray Paint’s Watermelon.)

Tools

• Large piece of cardboard (to protect your work surface)

Directions

1. To start, you will want to go to your local thrift store, and pick out a selection of plates, saucers, cups, and vases. Take the time to stack them on top of each other in different ways, to determine height and size of each piece. You also want to make sure the pieces fit together and won’t be top heavy. I purchased 8 saucers and 8 different cups for less than $5 at my local Value Village (secondhand store). Once you get them home, wash them well, and remove any price tags or grease pencil marks. Then allow them to dry completely.



2. When everything is dry, it is time to start gluing the pieces together. Again, remember to make sure none are top heavy and that the bottoms of the plates and the glassware fit together well. To glue my plates and glasses together, I used a glue called Weldbond. You can find it at most hardware stores. (To be honest, if I make more of these, I would use E-6000 because I found out the the dry time on the Weldbond is 24+ hours and so that made my project take longer!) With Weldbond, you need to put a coat of glue on both pieces of the display stand and let it sit for about 5 minutes BEFORE you press the two pieces together.



3. The more glue you use, the longer it will take it to dry, but a soft bond is formed after about 5-6 hours. It will be totally dry after 24-36 hours depending on how much glue you used. Putting glue on both pieces first and letting them sit a minute creates a stronger bond.



(I hope you have another project to work on—of course you do!—because it is going to be a whole 24-36 hours before the Weldbond dries. Set the pieces in a place where they won’t have to be moved, so the seal isn’t interrupted during the dry time. Be patient and don’t rush it. When the Weldbond is clear, then it is dry and you can move on to the next step.)

4. Now that the glue is dry, it’s time to take your stands outside and set them in a flat place with some cardboard below to protect your grass/driveway/patio from the spray paint. The fun part is about to begin!



5. Using short, small bursts, cover the display stands with a thin coat of paint. Don’t hold the spray nozzle down for an extended period of time or the paint will begin to run and drip. A thin coat will probably not cover any designs on the plates or cups, so plan to put 2-3 coats of paint on them. Also remember that you need to get both sides (top and bottom) of the displays, so you will have to flip them over. Be sure to let the coats dry or you will have fingerprints in the paint!



6. Once your displays are dry to the touch, move them back inside (I hope I didn’t need to say this before, but don’t spray paint inside!) and let them sit for about 24 hours so that the tackiness goes away and the smell of the paint goes away. Once you have totally dry displays, you are ready to set them up and show off your product!

Know Your Shows.

There’s a big difference between juried and non-juried shows. Juried shows are generally larger, nationally renowned, and will not accept walk-ins. “Usually, you have to fill out an application three to five months in advance,” says Martha.

To find application dates for juried shows:

• Check their website at least five months before the show.
• Sign up for their e-newsletter.
• Follow them on Facebook. (Martha advises that this is the best way.)

The non-juried craft shows are generally first-come, first-serve. “Some you could email a week before [the show] and still get in.”

For beginners, Martha suggests attending a few non-juried shows. But do your research, she warns. “You have to ask, what do you want to surround yourself with? At non-juried shows there are a lot of hobbyists. And Tupperware and Mary Kay. And wholesale stuff; it might be handmade, but probably in China. You can’t compete with wholesale prices.”

Before jumping into any old craft show, it might be a good idea to ask around—unless you want to compete with thousands of 99-cent lilac sachets or machine-made plastic tubs.

Get Organized.

Martha’s an expert in scheduling. In 2004, Sunday Afternoon Housewife began as a self-published zine. It was dedicated to band interviews and local show times. So, even then, Martha was honing her planning and scheduling skills. Now she keeps all the dates for her upcoming craft shows in a calendar.

What to include on your calendar:

• Application deadlines
• Acceptance dates for shows
• Show set-up and tear-down times
• Dates of shows in which you’ll be participating

Start Crafting.

1. Find one craft you can do quickly.
2. Master it.
3. Make as many as you can.

When asked about her first show, Martha just laughs. “The weather was terrible,” she says. “We weren’t prepared. We had an awkward mix of crafts, and we ran out. That’s when I realized I needed to find one craft I wanted to do, and stick with it. I don’t make money off of knit and crochet—I’m too slow. One girl I know can knit a hat in an hour! That’s not me.”