Saturday, January 10, 2015

DIY Medal Rack

full medal rack hanging on the wallShortly into my running career--way faster than I would have imagined!--I had amassed a pile of bibs and medals and wasn't sure what to do with them. For a long time the medals collected on my thermostat, but I wanted a more purposeful way to keep them on display without looking cluttered. I like the idea of detaching the ribbons and using the medals as Christmas tree ornaments eventually, but (a) I don't always have a tree and (b) I still like the daily reminder of what I've accomplished!

I saw a lot of options on etsy, but none of them were quite right. So I started trying to picture what would be just right! And finally, today I have the finished product hanging on my wall, just a couple weeks ahead of my 2yr running anniversary.

I found the base in the unfinished wood section at Michael's craft store. Using what I had left over from another project, I started by painting the whole thing yellow, then used painters tape to make an abstract pattern, and painted alternating blocks in blues.

yellow block with blue painter's tapeblock all painted with painters tapepainted block, tape removed

I am pretty pleased with how it came out! 
Added a sawtooth hanger to the back, and L-hooks to the front, and it's done! 

completed medal rack hanging on the wall

Runners, what do you do with all of your bibs and medals?