Fork Stand on my $0 Budget

Did you see the Blessed to Be Blessed's guest post yesterday with here $0 infinity scarf? Amazingly creative! If you missed it, you can check it out here.

Today's post has helped me get rid of use up a basket of old forks I found laying around that didn't match my everyday or my formal set. I made photo stands out of them. This $0 project would work amazingly well with silver forks ...like anyone has some of those laying around to be altered into a plate/photo stand. Steer clear of thick, heavy gauge forks; they are very hard to bend and you will not be happy with the end results.

Here is what the project looks like in the end:

Materials:
  • Old forks
  • Needle nose pliers
  • Wire bending tool (not necessary but nice to have)
Method:
Using a wire bending tool my husband had (if you don't have this, you can easily use pliers) I bent the prongs of the forks forward and backwards so the fork stood on its own.
You start with the two outer prongs and you bend them forward to approximately a 90 degree angle.  Be sure to line up where the bend is otherwise you will have a wobbly stand.
 
Once the outer two are bent, move to the middle two. Bend them in the opposite direction as the outer ones.
So your fork will look like this.
 
Then using a pair of pliers, I separated the middle prongs so they will provide better balance.
Test out the fork now and see if it stands well. If it is off balance, bend the prongs a little to get it in the right position. I liked mine to lean back slightly but it is up to you.

Then using needle nose pliers, I rolled the 4 prongs to make a loop on the ends. This makes it look a little nicer and provides an edge for the photo to lean against.
I had planned to used these forks as pictures stands. I really wanted this stand to hold photos of my two guys in my office that I don't want to frame since I change them frequently. I love how they are not bulky on my desk.
I now think these would have work great for the Personalized Marble Tiles I made for everyone at Christmas.  I made over 20 of these as Christmas gifts and ended up buying plate stands at the Dollar Store for each of them. I wish I had thought of this earlier because they are far cuter than the Dollar store stands I gave. I will have to remember it next year.

I still have one of my original plates waiting to be gifted (we will see them later this month) so I tested out my fork stand and it worked great. You can barely see the top of the fork sticking out but I love how it doesn't take away from the tile.
What do you think of my $0 fork plate /photo stand?

How has your spend free day been? We have had an interesting morning. My guys were in desperate need of hair cuts but since I am determined to not spend unnecessarily, I sat them down and did it myself. Before you gasp in disgust, my son had really curly hair so even if I completely messed up and had many different lengths, you would not be able to tell on his hair. My daughter on the other hand has perfectly straight hair. So this took me a little longer but ended up working really well. I saved approximately $45 by doing this! Not bad. Maybe in the future I can alternate between me and a professional.

Do you but your kids hair? Anyone have any tricks to make this easier?

Have a great day,
Stephanie

Comments

  1. i love the forks! v cute!
    I have one daughter with straight hair, the other's is wavy...I have a trick for cutting the straight hair perfectly every time...I know it sounds weird, but i use Scotch tape...I comb her wet hair into three sections, one above each ear and then across the back...we negotiate how much is coming off, squeeze off most water and apply the tape...when i was first doing it, i put a layer of tape on the underside of her hair too, but now i just tape it off and cut below the tape...works great for bangs too...the wavy hair never looks as professionally done but i use tape on it too...Like you I alternate taking them to the hairdresser and doing it myself...it saves a lot!

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  2. This is such a great idea! I have a few things I have been meaning to get plate stands for and always forget (or don't feel like spening the money!), I'll definitely have to give this a go, we have a whole set of silverware that is basically a "back up for the back up", so I'm sure we can part with a few pieces!

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  3. This is a wonderful idea, can't wait to use it. I have 7 kiddos and I have always cut their hair. Of course some of them are older now and they pay for their own haircuts, but if I'm around they will ask me to do it, especially the boys. Thankfully, I had lots of practice on my hubby first. My biggest tip is the more you do it the better you'll be. Also, watch very carefully when they are getting haircuts at the salon or barber, you'll learn alot. Oh, don't forget to write down what you see, it'll refresh your brain when its your turn to cut.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Tami! I think I am going to continue cutting their hair and only getting a professional cut every 3rd or 4th time to clean it up.

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  4. love the whole fork idea and they look fantastic !

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  5. Our family hair stylist taught my sister and me how to layer when we were young...after we botched our attempts at "feathering". If you hold a section of hair straight out from the head or even angled up, the hair will fall into layers because the lower strands end up being longer than the upper strands. I cut my own hair as well as my family's hair for years.

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  6. Great idea. Where can I get the wire bender?

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    Replies
    1. I believe my husband bought it at a local store called Lee Valley. You could check Home Depot and Lowes, they might have it.

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  7. I have cut my husbands hair for 42 years, he likes the convenience, quickness and all the money we have saved. I did my 3 sons hair until they decided to start paying to go to the barbershop, I was relieved actually!! I get my own cut about every 5 years or so professionally, when I want to go short!

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  8. I wonder if this would work as a10" iPad stand.

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