Quick Craft: Ray Gun Stand From Cardboard

So you've made a pretty ray gun, and now you want to show it off, eh?

EXCELLENT. 

(What's that? You haven't?? Then go here for my tutorial!)

 

After all, the world has enough decorative bowls of fake fruit, my friends, but not NEARLY enough non-functioning fantasy weaponry.

SO. Here's an easy way to display that pretty pew-pew:

The triangular shape of the stand is extremely sturdy, so much so that I use this same design - also made from cardboard - to display one of our much heavier glass-and-brass ray guns.

The notched top ensures the barrel doesn't slide off, so it would take a really determined bit of shelf-shaking to make the gun fall over.

Plus, you can decorate it all pretty-like:

  Here it is in shadow...

... and in the light:

 Shiiiiiny.

All you need is a thin cardboard box from the pantry:

"What do you MEAN it's not for me?!" 

 Plus some strong tape to hold the stand together.

If you want your stand to look like mine, then you'll actually need metal tape, plus a little black craft paint to age it. 

Getting the stand's height right requires a little trial and error, but a good place to start is with a 2.5x7.5 inch strip of cardboard. Cut that out, and mark & score two fold lines around 3 inches in from either edge. Then fold the ends up, like this:

Now prop your ray gun on it to test the height:

 

 You want it to be just slightly too tall, since we'll be cutting out a notch next. It will probably be way too tall at first, though, so trim down the ends 1/4 of an inch at a time 'til it looks right.

 Next, cut out a shallow notch in the center of each edge:

Make it as wide as your gun barrel, which in my case was about one inch.

Here's my completed stand before taping:

And now... WE DECORATE.

Cover both sides of your stand with varying sizes of metal tape, using a toothpick to mark "rivets" along all the edges:

When you're nearly done, fold the stand up and use more tape to hold the top edges together. (I used longer strips for extra grip.)

Now paint on & quickly rub off some cheap black craft paint:

I love this effect. SO COOL. 

 (Here's my tutorial on metal tape crafts, if you'd like something more in-depth.)

You can stop there, of course, but if you happen to have some craft gears lying around, like these laser-cut lovelies:

... then grab two, paint them black,

... and lightly scrub on a teensy bit of gold paint or Rub n' Buff to give them an aged, metallic look:

 

 I recommend a dab of E-6000 to hold them in place, since superglue doesn't stick well to metal tape.

 All done!

 

Now go clear some boring stuff off a shelf, and set this baby up!

 

 Happy crafting!

(If you'd like to see ALL my projects & tutorials in one place, then check out my Crafts Page! I make John update it every 6 weeks or so, and I like him to feel appreciated. ;))