Card Display from Old Shutters

Well, I finally finished it!!...  I have had a vision for this card display since this project was requested  (which, I am sad to admit, took me 4 months...)and it has finally come together.  I had a friend contact me after finding some beautiful blue shutters.  She needed me to turn them into a card rack for her shop.  In case you don't know me very well, my answer for EVERYTHING is, "Google it!!"  So the first thing I did was google "card displays from shutters"  and ended up with very few examples.  I thought I might share this with you as a tutorial in case you find yourself in need of a way to display cards in the near future.

Aren't these gorgeous?!  I told her I might have
to fight her for these...

What you will need: 

4 shutters

4 hinges

3 or 4 mending plates

red line jute webbing (2 rolls)

staples and staple gun

2 baskets

wire  

Let's get started!!...

step one ~ mending plates 

I started out by laying two of the shutters flat on the floor, pretty side down.  Making sure the bottom and the top of the two lined up evenly, I placed the mending plates about 2 inches below the top, two inches above the bottom and in the center of the two shutters, and screwed them in place. These will hold the two shutters together.

step two ~ hinges

I stood the two shutters up, now attached, and had to grab a hand from the hubby.  As you can see from the photo, we took the third shutter, pretty sides facing together, and stood it in front of one of the shutters.  As the hubs held the two shutters together, I screwed in the two hinges into the two shutters, one about 12 inches from the top and the other about 12 inches from the bottom.  ( I have to tell you that I thank God for the inventor of power tools, especially the power screwdriver!  Thank you Jesus!)    

Repeat on the other side for the fourth shutter.

This is what you should now have in front of you...

step three ~ webbing

Hang the webbing down the front of one of the side shutters.  Leave about 3 inches hanging down the back side of the shutter and staple the webbing in place. 

Repeat for the other side shutter.

step four ~  webbing cont

The webbing should be hanging down in front of the side shutter now, and it is probably about 15 inches longer than the shutter.  Trim the webbing even with the bottom of the shutter and then staple in place.  

Repeat for other side shutter.

This is what you should now have in front of you...

Here is where it starts to get a little interesting...  Once I got to this point, in my mind I thought I was finished.  But I needed some place for envelopes to go...  I love baskets and they work for anything and everything SO I had to rig something up to hold a basket in place.  The solution was wire!...

step five ~ wire

Cut 4 pieces of wire about 24 inches long.   Because I can't figure out how to word this step, just follow the pictures above.  Do this step for each 4 pieces of wire.

step six ~ wire cont

On the back of the 2 shutters that are held together by the mending plates, staple 2 of the wrapped wire creations in the middle of each shutter, about 3 inches from each other.  This explanation may sound confusing.  If it doesn't make sense, refer to the picture above.  Once stapled in place you will have wire sticking up.  Pull these pieces of wire down and stick through one of the cracks between shutters.  In the next picture, you will see that the wire is sticking out of the front of the shutter display.  

Repeat on the back of the other shutter that is attached with the mending plate.

step seven ~ adding the basket

Now that you have 2 pieces of wire weave through your basket.  

Repeat with the other shutter.

step eight ~ basket cont

Weave the wire back through the back of the shutter, so that your wire is now hanging out in the back.  

Repeat with the other shutter. 

step nine ~ wire and basket finale

Pull the wire tight, so that your basket is pulled tight against the shutter.  Take the two pieces of wire and twist them together, tightly, and tuck the extra in between the cracks in the shutter.  Repeat for other basket and wires as well.

Ta-Dah!

This is what you should now have in front of you...

And once you add your cards, and a few clothes pin...

Happy Creating!