Crafts for adults Handmade gifts Recycled crafts

Upcycled folding ruler tray

upcycled ruler tray - the gingerbread house

Last Christmas I made a fun Christmas tree from vintage folding rulers. I’m not sure I ever blogged about it but it left me with quite a few pieces of vintage rulers to play with. I thought a little tray would be a good use of some of the pieces. There are always bunches of keys and receipts lying around so I thought a tray would be useful to tidy up our hall.

Upcycled folding ruler tray materials:
Hardboard
Vintage folding ruler
PVA wood glue
Sand paper

How to make an upcycled folding ruler tray:

I re-used a folding ruler by cutting off the metal ends, this left me with approximately 25cm lengths.

I decided on the size of my box and cut the wood accordingly. I purchased a piece of hardboard from my local DIY shop which they cut to size and used PVA woodglue to glue the ruler to the hardboard. Then I clamped the pieces together and left it overnight so the glue would dry.

The next day I removed the clamps and gave the edges a very light sand to remove any rough edges.

My tray has one divider so I lined each side with some pretty paper as the hardboard looked quite dull. I think the paper came from Tiger and I used a Blu Stick to glue it in place.

I’ve used small blobs of Sugru on the base to stop it scratching any wooden surfaces.

vintage ruler tray - the gingerbread house

I think the tray looks great and I may be making a few more as they would make lovely gifts.

26 Comments

  • Reply
    Em @ snowingindoors
    July 4, 2014 at 11:57 am

    What a gorgeous project, I love it!

  • Reply
    you baby me mummy
    July 4, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    This looks so good! Well done x

  • Reply
    Jen aka The Mad House
    July 4, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    I love it. I never see wooden rulers anywhere. I also love SUGRU too

  • Reply
    Globalmouse
    July 4, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Oh my goodness I love it!! What a great idea!

  • Reply
    Ryan Costello
    July 4, 2014 at 4:51 pm

    Oh wow it turned out great. Fantastic idea.

  • Reply
    Louisa
    July 4, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    What a fantastic project! I would be thrilled to receive one.

  • Reply
    Julie
    July 4, 2014 at 7:24 pm

    I really like this and this would be ideal for school children I think x

  • Reply
    Kate Thompson
    July 4, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    This is perfect – I only just found my stash of wooden rulers! I’m going to adapt it slightly to make a drawer tidy 😉 Thanks for the tip!

  • Reply
    Polly
    July 4, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    great idea!!! love those vintage rulers

  • Reply
    Nayna Kanabar
    July 4, 2014 at 10:15 pm

    I love new things from old and these trays look really nice.

  • Reply
    Pinkoddy
    July 4, 2014 at 11:24 pm

    Oh my that would make an excellent teacher gift.

  • Reply
    Kara
    July 5, 2014 at 10:45 am

    That looks fabulous

  • Reply
    Foz
    July 5, 2014 at 11:38 am

    Oh that is a lovely idea…and looks great!

  • Reply
    LearnerMother
    July 5, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    That’s great – I love those old rulers, my other half has one, I bet he wouldn’t give it up for me to make something out of though, ha!

  • Reply
    Helen @ Witty Hoots
    July 5, 2014 at 1:53 pm

    That is just neat. I would love one of those for my study. I may look for some old rulers in the charity shops and see what I can make!

  • Reply
    Healthier Mummy
    July 5, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    What a clever idea. You can never have too many little trays to store things in, and I love those vintage rulers.

  • Reply
    VaiChin @RamblingThroughParenthood
    July 5, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    I really like this. I love upcycling. So much better than binning things.

  • Reply
    Kate Williams
    July 6, 2014 at 11:30 am

    That looks fantastic! Love the wooden rulers, need to hunt some out for myself 🙂

  • Reply
    Jess Howliston
    July 6, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    What a lovely idea and it looks so cute and has a vintage type feel! x

    Jess
    http://owlcrazymummy.blogspot.co.uk

  • Reply
    Angela Moore
    July 7, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    Love the use of the folding ruler, I also love trays / drawer tidy. I know what I will be keeping my eyes peeled for next time I am in the antiques/junk shop.

    Angela

  • Reply
    Becky
    July 8, 2014 at 7:23 am

    I would buy one I adore it! #magpiemonday

  • Reply
    Liz Burton
    July 8, 2014 at 11:10 am

    That is genius! What a gorgeous thing.

    Thank you for linking up with #MagpieMonday

  • Reply
    Ruthy @ Minibreak Mummy
    July 8, 2014 at 8:16 pm

    What an amazing idea! And I love the yellow flowery print too!

  • Reply
    Gina Caro
    July 18, 2014 at 10:25 am

    That looks fantastic. What a great idea! That would fit nicely in my vintage/industrial kitchen that I’m trying to create. 🙂

  • Reply
    Deck the Halls for less - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    December 17, 2014 at 4:09 pm

    […] Also on the sideboard I placed two glass star votives and tea light candles in my vintage ruler tray. […]

  • Reply
    Upcycled vintage ruler heart - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    January 25, 2022 at 1:59 pm

    […] upcycling a few of my vintage wooden rulers to make a sweet keepsake. I love upcycling and made an upcycled folding wooden ruler tray which I still use to hold my cotton reels. I also love the wooden vintage ruler Christmas tree I […]

  • Leave a Reply