Easy and inexpensive military patch display

Slooooow progress is being made in Beau’s room, and this weekend, we finally got his military patch display done.  It went a little pear shaped at first, but turned out all right in the end. Because I used mostly just stuff I had on hand, cost less than $6 to make!

Here is the before:
which I actually think is a pretty cool looking display that Beau made.  But it doesn’t come close to holding all of the patches that we have.  These were my dad’s from when he served in Vietnam.

Here’s what we ended up with:

 

And here’s how we did it!

Military patch display, step by step

materials

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Frame or old artwork (we found ours at Goodwill for less than $6)

spray paint if you wish to paint the frame

Ribbon or fabric to cover the art (linking the ribbon I used for convenience, but I’m not familiar with this seller on Amazon, and there’s only 1 (5-star) review.  I’ve had it a long time, and I believe I bought it in store at Wal-Mart)

Glue gun

Glue sticks

patches and/or pins you are using

double sided tape

*a note- I originally tried (and photographed) this project using Glue Dots.  Fail.  Does not work.  Use the double sided tape.  It holds way better!

getting started

Step 1- spray paint

Here’s the beautiful artwork before, which looks like every piece of artwork that has ever hung on the walls of every Women’s Clinic.  I think we actually had this hanging in our bathroom growing up.

Just take the art and glass out first (duh), then spray away!

Step 2- cover the art

I know it’s hard to believe, but we’re going to cover the art.  Just flip it over, if needed, so you have a flat surface (mine had the matting attached).

I knew that we wouldn’t have enough of the denim ribbon, and I had a role of this ivory ribbon, so decided to use that as a bit of contrast and interest.  Plus, it’s a subtle way to continue the stripe theme we’ve got going on in here.

This part is super easy.  Just start at the top, add a dot of hot glue, attach the ribbon, and carry it over.  Do this line by line.

I really liked how the fraying edges give it a bit of texture and dimension.

Step 3- attach the frame

Once your frame is dry, put your fabric or ribbon covered artwork back into the frame. You can see how mine is “backwards” here since I used the back of the art for my ribbon.

Then, use a screwdriver to work the staples down over the art to hold it securely in place.

A note: I was not planning on using the glass because I want mine to be open so we can use it for pins, change out the patches, etc.  However, if you want to use the glass, hold up before you do this step and attach it after you put on the patches.

Step 4: Attach your military patches and pins and enjoy!

Use the double sided tape to adhere the patches to the board.  It only takes a little and it holds really well.

Sorry, I don’t have pictures of this, because I originally photographed this with Glue Dots, which I said, didn’t hold well at all.   I used them at first because I was trying to get way with using the least little bit of something on the patches that I could that would hold.  The double sided tape- which we keep on hand and use for all kinds of stuff- worked great, and is what Beau was using to hold them on his cardboard display originally (that I had to rip off!).

 

I’m so glad that we completed this project.  It’s so great to see my dad’s military patches out where they belong- on display, in a place of honor, and his service to our country being remembered.

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