If you have been reading my blog posts since August, you will know that my father-in-law was diagnosed with leukemia.  He has had to spend long weeks/months in the hospital for treatment.  He receives a lot of cards and well wishes, but there isn't a lot of surface area to display all his cards.

Some were taped to the wall for a little bit, but the humidifiers he had going in his room made the tape not so sticky.  I wanted so much to be able to do something to help my in-laws in some way, so I designed this card holder for them to hang up while they were stuck in the hospital.

I certainly don't hope that you have ill relatives in the hospital, but if you do, I hope this is a fun craft project you can make to give them some cheer.



You will need:

- 4 Wooden dowels (I don't remember the measurement, but they were thin enough the clothes pins fit around them)
- Wooden clothes pins
- 8 Large, flat-backed, clear glass marbles
- 2-inch wide ribbon in your choice of color
- Coordinating glitter in your choice of color
- Felt
- Mod Podge
- Foam paint brush, scissors, wire cutters, and a glue gun
- Heavy decorative wire
- 2 Heavy duty magnetic hooks (found them at the hardware store.  They hold 15 pounds each)


I started with a thin coat of Mod Podge on the flat part of the large marbles and sprinkled them with glitter.  They need a decent amount of time to dry completely.  So set them aside while you work on the rest of the project.





Measure the dowels for the width you want.  I believe mine were about 30 inches.  Clip off the excess.  Next decide how much room you want to leave in per row.  This is the area where the cards will hang.  I think I measured out 9 inches for the height of each row.  Measure out your ribbon accordingly (40 to 45 inches depending on how long your want the extra to hang down on the last row.)  Fold the ribbon over to double the length.

I used the magnetic hooks on my door to hold my first dowel.  Use some hot glue on the edge of the dowel and slip the middle of your ribbon onto the end.  Do this for both sides.




Use the wire to create a big hanger depending on the ceiling height.  I eyeballed how tall I thought the hospital ceiling was and measured out my wire.  I wrapped it around each end of the dowel and curled the ends to make it look pretty.






Next, measure the 9 inches down to your second row.  I cut two slits in the ribbon and poked the end of the dowel through like so:



Add some hot glue to the back to secure the ribbon.  Do this for both sides and continue down however many rows you have chosen to go.

After your dowels are secure, it is time to put some felt on the back of the marbles.  Make sure the glitter is dry completely.  Using the glue gun, adhere a small square of felt to the back of each marble.  The felt helps the glue grip to the dowel and not disturb the glitter when you apply the marble to the dowel.



Hot glue the marble to the dowel to cover the areas where the dowel shows through the slits.




When you are all finished, it should look something like this.



Add your clothes pins to hold the cards.






The hospital had metal borders on the ceiling between the tiles.  The magnetic hooks simply stick to the metal border to hold the card display in place.



Happy Crafting!