How many people cringe when someone asks “do you have a moment to answer a few questions”?

I’ll admit that sometimes I do too, but I almost always TAKE THE SURVEY. Click here to take the survey Why? Because after a Master’s in communication (read: survey research) I learned that not only is survey research time consuming and hard for those that create the survey, but it is important for you, the survey taker.

You may ask: “Why is it important for me? I’m doing them a favor by filling out the $%^@ survey!” Because without that survey, we can’t know what you’re thinking (or feeling). Maybe science is only a few years away from being able to scan all your thoughts, or implanting some chip that will transmit the average human thought or decision-making process directly to Google’s servers, but until that happens, we are stuck with the survey. And in the meantime you may want to ask yourself if you really want all your thoughts scanned. I didn’t think so. 

The only other option for decoding human thought and behavior is experimentation or direct observation. Would you rather have someone follow you around with a clipboard or video camera? That’s what I thought. And for anyone that’s ever had an intro Psych course, I don’t have to remind you what “experimentation” involves (think Zimbardo, Milgram). It’s actually not as scary as it sounds now (thanks to strict review from the IRB), but it is time consuming to take part in an experiment, far moreso than taking a survey.

 It’s clear that as annoying as surveys are, they are the fastest way to get information about people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Many would argue that surveys are also the method that is most prone to error, but hey, it’s really all we’ve got in most cases (until thought scans).

So, next time someone asks you to take a survey–like right now–Click here to take survey, just remember this:

1.) Someone put a lot of time and energy (and most likely money) into finding out what YOU think. You should really take that as a compliment.

2.)  Surveys, though annoying, are less annoying than any of the other options for understanding you, the paticipant. That is unless you like the idea of a brain chip.

For the last show I did at a local mall, I decided to leave the gauged jewelry at home. At tattoo conventions, it takes up a whole side of my hanging display wall, and a small table. It’s a lot of work to set up, and I didn’t think it would be a good investment for the time I would spend on it at a mall show. But, I needed something to go in that space on my double-sided display.

I thought that some display boards that I could artfully pin jewelry to would be perfect, but none of my jewelry diplay suppliers carried anything remotely close to what I wanted, so after searching around online, it seemed that making my own would be the best (only) way to go. So, here are the steps I took to make 3 framed jewelry display boards. I’m not sure what the total cost of materials was, since I ended up buying a lot of extra stuff because I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to make them going in. They turned out great. They can be hung horizontally or vertically with sawtooth hangers, or propped on a table for display with inexpensive aluminum easels ($20 each).

Materials:
3 Empty frames—no glass or backing–that are relatively the same size (or different sizes for a more asymetrical look). Mine were all about 14 x 17, plus or minus 2 inches. They were custom framing department rejects. You have to look harder for these, or ask if they have any frames they are going to throw away. Having worked in framing, there are a lot of errors for one reason or another and the frames are perfectly good, but they have had artwork taped, set, and stapled into them. I also looked for frames that were a bit deeper to accomodate the thickness of the stuff I’d be putting in, which is definitely thicker than your average art/matte combo. Anyway!

Foamcore boards (enough to fit in your frames. I used about 3 20×30 sheets)

1/4″ cork. You can buy rolls of it in the art supply section of most large craft stores

Cotton batting for a quilt. Not the fluffy batting. It comes in a sheet. I bought enough for a Queen size quilt, but this was way too much.

Fabric to accent your jewelry, that won’t show pin marks. I used a light linen-like fabric, and a black velour.

Spray mount
Sawtooth hangers
Measuring tools like a T-square
Pencil/marking device
X-acto knife

Self healing cutting mat (optional)
Painter’s tape
Spray paint in your choice of color (I needed 2 cans of Krylon Satin finish in Sweet Pea)
Glazier’s points (found in the framing department)
Glazier’s tool or paint scraper. I recommend the glazier’s tool. Found in the harware store with the paint scrapers, it has a different shape designed to work with the glazing points.
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Iron

Scissors

Step 1) Lay your frames out and make sure they will work together and decide how you will orient them for hanging.

Fronts of the frames

Step 2) Prep your frames for spray paint. Line the back and inside with painter’s tape. Before you paint them, measure the opening for the artwork in the back, and write it down. You may want to “name” them in some way because if you paint them all the same like I did, it will be difficult to tell them apart. Mine all had different measurements and once you start cutting pieces for the foamcore/cork/batting assemblies, you’ll want to label the pieces in some way based on which frame they are going in to keep them straight.

Back lined with painter's tape

Step 3) Paint your frames.

I painted them outside, but brough them in to dry because it was very cold, which slows dry time.

Step 4) Between coats, you can start measuring and cutting the inserts. I cut the foamcore first, then the cork, then the batting (2 pieces for each frame). The edges don’t have to be perfectly straight because you won’t see them once they are covered with fabric, and in the frame. I labelled each piece with a pen to keep them straight.

Step 5) Spray mount the foamcore and the cork together, and let them set for the recommended time, under a weight. I used a 4×4 display table.

cork spray-mounted to foamcore

2 layers of batting

Step 6) Cut the fabric 2-3 inches larger than the insert on all sides.

Step 7) Once everything is dry and set (probably overnight), Set your inserts (foamcore/cork  assembly) in the respective frames to see how they fit, and trim anything as necessary. You’ll be wrapping fabric around them, so they shouldn’t fit too snugly. Also, at this point you can see if the frames are deep enough for the inserts. Mine all fit nicely.

Step 8 ) Iron the batting and the fabric. This step is important for smooth, attractive displays.

Step 9) Place the fabric, display side down, on a flat surface. Center the inserts on the fabric. Since the batting is still loose at this point, this step is a little tricky. It may be easier to put the layers together facing up, and then quickly flip them over onto the floor or a table (wherever you are going to hot glue them). Here is how the layers should go: (from the one facing you down) Fabric, 2 layers of batting, foamcore/cork assembly with the cork facing the batting. You will be able to see the foamcore on the back of the frame. Warm up your hot glue gun!

Step 10)  Glue the fabric to the back of the foamcore. Starting by gluing the center of two opposing sides down, then flip and glue the center of the other two sides, putting a little tension on the fabric as you go. Then, glue the rest of the edges down working out to the corners. The corners are a bit tricky. I burned myself a lot. When you’re done gluing, trim excess fabric off the insert.

fabric glued down in the center of each side

Finished insert from the front

Step 11) Hammer the sawtooth hangers to the center of one back side of each frame, or two sides if you want to hang them vertically and horizontally.

Step 12) Place the finished insert in it’s frame, and secure with glazing points. I used 2-3 on each side.

Finished from the back, note the placement of hangers and glazing points.

Finished boards from the front

You’re done! Use a lint roller to clean off the fabric of any stray fuzz. Now pin your jewelry to the display. I ordered silver U-pins online (you can get them on Ebay), but you can use any large-headed pin. Be careful not to stick them too far in, or they will stick out the back of the foamcore. See the finished result below.

Boards in action at the mall show!

This is a very versatile project, and you could use the basic steps to dress up any bulletin board to match the decor of a room. I have also considered using a very deep frame (which I bought at the same time) and using high density foam in the insert instead of batting, so that you can stick long pins all the way in. This would only work for jewelry though, not as a bulletin board. If I end up doing that in the future, post an update.

Good Luck!