DIY Bookstand "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" Theme (Easy Tutorial for Children & Customizable Design)

I was inspired to create this product by my 9-year-old brother. Recently, he has been absolutely captivated by the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, and generally greatly enjoys reading. Due to the current Covid-19 situation, young children spend a lot of time in front of their screen. This DIY project will be fun, get them crafting, and motivate them to read. These times can be extremely boring for kids, especially in this age range, meaning that a project might make their time at home more enjoyable. In addition, it does not require any special materials or skills. The design shown here is inspired by the book series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid", but you can customize it however you would like to. I hope you enjoy this and have a great final result that you can use in your everyday life!

Please give me constructive criticism about my Instructable :)

A prepared set-up for an arts&crafts project is crucial to ensure that you don't damage the surface below, or create an unwanted mess. As glue, paint, water, etc. will be used, using newspaper or any cover of where you are working on is best. Having paper towels nearby in case any spillage occurs is also helpful. This is also used when cleaning your paintbrushes in between colors. If you decide to paint the stand, you will also need a jug of water. If you decide to use a cutting knife, use a chopping board beneath this so that you don't damage the surface. If you are as impatient as I am, you can use a hairdryer to make the paint dry faster.

For your surface/set-up:

• Newspaper/Blanket (or any other cover)
• Paper towels
• Jug of water
• Possible chopping board (if you use a cutting knife)
• Hairdryer

For the body of the stand, you will require cardboard. This should be relatively thick. You can recycle old packaging or boxes for this. It should be at least A2-sized. You will need wrapping paper or colorful paper of your choice to wrap this with. This should be a bit greater in size. To cut these materials, you will need a scissor. You may choose to use a cutting knife, however, ensure that you use a chopping board beneath this. Also ask for assistance, as you might cut yourself. For adhering the paper onto the cardboard, you will need glue. Using a glue stick is perfectly fine, but liquid glue will make it more sturdy and long-lasting. To measure and draw the template, you will need a pencil and a ruler with a minimum length of 30cm.

For the creation of the stand you will need:

• A2 sheet of cardboard
• Gift wrapping paper/colorful paper of your choice
• Scissors/Cutting knife (if you use a cutting knife, use a board below so you do not damage the surface)
• A glue stick/liquid glue (liquid glue will create a more sturdy, long-lasting product)
• Pencil
• Ruler (recommend a length of at least 30cm)

You are free to decorate it however you want. You can choose not to or paint, draw, add stickers, feathers, jewels, pictures, whatever you would like to! You have creative freedom. For this purpose, I will use black acrylic paint and paintbrushes. I will also use a paint palette. If you decide to copy this design, use a thinner paintbrush or black marker.

For the decoration of the stand you will need:

• Paintbrushes (different sizes depending on the design)
• Paint palette
• Paint/markers/colored pencils/fine liners/watercolor ...
• Any arts&crafts materials of your choice...

You are going to start by measuring out a rectangle, this will have the dimensions of:

33cm x 27cm

These are specifically made to fit the size of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, but these have very average dimensions, meaning that this stand will be able to hold books of different dimensions around this size.

When doing this leave at least 10cm of cardboard on both sides.

Next, we are going to add the triangles on both sides.

Measure 7cm from the bottom of the rectangle and mark this point.

From there draw a 10cm horizontal line to the side (you can decide right or left you have to do this on both sides of the rectangle anyways).

Now connect the top and bottom of the rectangle to this point. This will create a triangular shape.

Repeat this on the other side.

Now you are going to find the center of the rectangle.

This is going to be 13.5cm from either side. Mark this point and draw a vertical line.

To finalize this shape you are going to measure 3cm from the bottom of the rectangle to the centerline just measured.

Now you are going to connect the left and right sides of the rectangle to this mark, creating a triangle shape.

ASK YOUR PARENTS OR ANY ADULTS FOR HELP IN CASE OF INJURY CAUSED BY SHARP OBJECTS

You are going to cut out the shape just created.

You are going to create folds along the centerline and left and right sides of the rectangle.

3cm incision on the 7cm line (left).

3cm incision on the 7cm line (right).

5cm incision on the 7cm line (center).

The next shape is a bit more complex.

1. Measure a rectangle 27cm in length and 12cm in height.
2. Measure 7cm from the bottom of the rectangle and mark the point.
3. Measure 3cm from the bottom of the rectangle and mark the point.
4. Measure 3cm from the left of the rectangle and mark the point.
5. Measure 3cm from the right of the rectangle and mark the point.
6. Measure 5cm in the middle (2.5cm on both sides of the middle line) and mark both points.

ASK YOUR PARENTS OR ANY ADULTS FOR HELP IN CASE OF INJURY CAUSED BY SHARP OBJECTS

Draw vertical lines, to the bottom of the rectangle, where you have just created the marks.

For the center rectangle you have now created, draw a horizontal line at the 7cm mark. You will now have a square in the top center of the shape with the dimensions of 5cm x 5cm.

From the lower two edges of this square, you will draw diagonal lines that reach the 3cm line measured from the bottom, at the edge of the 3cm sidelines. This will create the shape of a square with a triangle attached to the bottom.

Now draw a diagonal line from the center of the 3cm mark (1.5cm) of the left and right corner, until the bottom of the shape.

Cut out this shape, it should look like the one shown in the image above.

Now you have created the 2 cardboard parts of the structure. If you chose to cover your bookstand with paper, follow this step. If not skip to the next one. For my purpose, I am choosing white, because this is where my design will look best with.

You can now place your cardboard cut-outs on the paper of your choice. Trace around it. Angle your pencil, so that you have some extra space on the sides so that you can fold over the edges.

Repeat this on both sides and use scissors to cut this out.

Cover the paper and/or wrapping paper in the glue of your choice and adhere paper and cardboard to one another.

Now create the same three incisions in the paper that were done in the cardboard before.

ASK YOUR PARENTS OR ANY ADULTS FOR HELP IN CASE OF INJURY CAUSED BY SHARP OBJECTS

Now the bookstand is completed, it is time to assemble!

You are going to cut two strips of paper 10cmx5cm (preferably one of the colors chosen before).

Take one of the triangular "flaps" from the main part of the structure and pull it back so that the side of the "arm" touches the wing.

Cover the strip in glue and fold it over the arm so that the arm and flap stick together.

Repeat this on the other side with the second strip.

As mentioned earlier, you can choose to decorate it how you would like to. You can get as creative as you want, definitely use your imagination! Possible things you could use for decoration would be:

• Colored paper
• Feathers
• Stickers
• Photographs/images
• Googly eyes
• Fake crystals/Jewels
• Pompons

You can also draw something onto the stand using:

• Paint (children's arts&crafts paint or acrylic)
• Watercolor (this works best on white paper)
• Markers
• Fineliners
• Pencils
• Colored pencils

For the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" design, I will be using the materials mentioned before. I printed out a reference picture and lightly sketched the outlines of the figures using pencil. You can use an image from the internet, here I am using one of his family. If you are happy with the design you can start painting. In my case, I will use a thin brush for the characters, using black paint. If you use multiple colors, you should clean the brush in between and dry it on some paper towel. If you have very fine lines, you can use a marker aswell. If you use multiple coats, use a hairdryer in between.

After letting it dry, you finished your bookstand! You can now use it when reading your favorite books. I hope you enjoyed this instructable, and are happy with your final result. I hope you will be able to do this at home easily! You can copy my design or be creative and think of your own one!

Feel free to leave constructive criticism :)