Make a Cub Scout Belt Loop Display for $1.50

My son as been active with scouts since he was a Tiger Cub and is just getting ready to cross over to a Boy Scout.  In my search of getting all his belt loops, patches, pins and other awards together, I realized he has a ton of stuff.  One item that cub scouts work toward is belt loops.  In order to earn a belt loops, a cub scout must preform certain tasks associated with whatever belt loop they are trying to earn at the time.  Right now there is a total of 53 different belt loops a cub scout can earn but as of 2015, these belt loops will no longer be part of the cub scout activities.  My son is lucky to have earned most of them already and I wanted to come up with a way we could display them for years to come.  I also wanted an idea that would be easy enough for my Webelos II to complete as one of their Craftsman Activity Badges.  

I've been tossing the idea around to use rulers as a base because they seemed to be the right size and shape for what I had in mind.  When the schools supplies went on sale at Wal-mart, I grabbed up a few to see if my idea would work.

When I got home, I brought out my hot glue gun, sand paper and some old Java color stain left over from redoing my bathroom cabinets.  I decided to use the hot glue gun because I wanted something that would be fast drying so that the Scouts could complete the project all in one den meeting.  I also thought about tearing out the bendable paper holders in folders to stick through the holes but changed my mind at the last minute because of the extra two rulers and no wholes for them. 

Step One - Before you glue, you must first remove the plastic straight line edge attached to the ruler.  Save yourself some trouble and just use pliers.  I used my nails for the first two and it was a pain.  The pliers makes it very simple to remove.  

Step Two - Take your sandpaper and sand the ruler down.  To make this easier, hold the sandpaper and ruler in a way that you can sand both sides at once.  Keep stopping to check to see if the Belt Loops will slide on rather easy.  Keep in mind that if you are going to paint/stain the ruler then you will need to sand it a little more to allow the Belt Loops to fit once the paint/stain is on.

Step Three - Hot glue your ruler together, making sure each one is straight.  I matched the three up with the the holes from the back piece and then filled in the other two rules in the extra space.  Make sure that the glue drys before moving on.

Step Four - Paint/Stain the ruler and leave overnight. 

Step Five - I used thin cord to make a decorative X and to add extra support to the center.  

If you completely fill this up, it will hold a total of 50 Belt Loops.  Five per row and side.  For a total of $1.50 for 6 rulers and with the use of a few items I had on hand, this Belt Loop display turned out great and will be a huge hit for my next Webelos Den Meeting. 

You may also like  Cub Scout Patch, Belt Loop and Arrow of Light Display

 

If interested in a fun Boy Scout Activity, read about how to plan a Boy Scout Escape Room!  It was so much fun.