A few years ago I decided I needed a way to display my ponies so I could actually see them all. I was tired of messing with dozens of boxes as makeshift risers and I couldn't afford nice acrylic risers so I decided to make my own.

Here's how I did it


Materials
Two sheets of 20"x30"x3/16" foam board
Utility knife
Hot glue gun with several glue sticks
Yard stick, T-square or some other kind of straight edge
Pen
1 Yard of felt (optional)

First you need to cut out your side and middle pieces. I made a stencil so I can just trace around it instead of measuring it out every time. You could use the back side of a cereal box, store bought pizza box or something similar to make your stencil should you want one. The measurements will depend on the space where you display your ponies but I'll include the measurements I use for my risers in just a bit to give you an idea of the proportions
Here%20I've%20traced%20all%203%20of%20my%20\"step\"%20pieces%20onto%20the%20foam%20board Here%20I've%20got%20my%20ruler%20to%20use%20as%20a%20straight%20edge%20while%20I%20cut%20to%20make%20sure%20I%20don't%20wander%20off%20the%20line.%20Be%20careful%20not%20to%20cut%20yourself! You%20should%20have%203%20identical%20step%20pieces This%20shot%20shows%20the%20measurements%20I%20used%20to%20fit%20my%20shelving%20system Now%20take%20your%20second%20sheet%20of%20foam%20board%20and%20cut%20out%20a%20strip%20the%20same%20width%20as%20your%20lower%20step.%20If%20you%20have%20a%20large%20T-square%20now%20is%20the%20perfect%20time%20to%20use%20it%20to%20make%20sure%20everything%20stays%20as%20even%20as%20possible Now%20run%20a%20generous%20bead%20of%20hot%20glue%20along%20the%20top%20edge%20of%20the%20lower%20step%20and%20place%20your%20strip%20on%20the%20edge.%20Watch%20out%20for%20the%20hot%20glue%20because%20it%20will%20squish%20out%20of%20the%20edges%20when%20you%20press%20it%20into%20place%20 Now%20repeat%20that%20step%20with%20the%20other%20end%20piece,%20then%20the%20middle%20and%20you%20should%20have%20something%20like%20this Now%20cut%20another%20strip%20and%20do%20the%20same%20thing%20with%20the%20upper%20step%20and%20your%20risers%20should%20look%20like%20this Now%20cut%20a%20third%20strip%20to%20close%20the%20gap%20between%20the%20two%20steps%20and%20glue%20it%20into%20place%20along%20the%20front%20edges%20of%20the%203%20step%20pieces. At%20this%20point%20I%20flip%20my%20risers%20over%20and%20apply%20a%20bead%20of%20hot%20glue%20along%20the%20seams.%20In%20this%20shot%20I've%20glued%20the%20seam%20on%20the%20left%20but%20not%20the%20right%20so%20you%20can%20see%20the%20difference. Now%20flip%20them%20back%20over%20and%20cut%20the%20fourth%20strip%20to%20close%20the%20last%20gap%20on%20the%20front%20of%20your%20risers.%20Now%20is%20a%20good%20time%20to%20look%20your%20risers%20over%20and%20glue%20up%20any%20weak%20spots.%20At%20this%20point%20you%20can%20call%20it%20done%20or%20you%20can%20pretty%20it%20up%20a%20little%20bit I%20chose%20to%20cover%20mine%20in%20green%20felt%20to%20look%20like%20grass.%20You%20could%20also%20try%20wallpaper,%20decoupaging%20or%20whatever%20else%20comes%20to%20mind.%20I%20find%20that%20the%20felt%20does%20a%20decent%20job%20of%20hiding%20the%20hot%20glue%20blobs.%20The%20only%20thing%20I%20wouldn't%20recommend%20is%20paint%20because%20of%20the%20possibility%20of%20it%20rubbing%20off%20onto%20your%20ponies.%20In%20this%20shot%20I%20have%20my%20risers%20laying%20on%20their%20back%20and%20I'm%20starting%20to%20glue%20the%20felt%20into%20place%20on%20the%20lower%20edge.%20I'm%20keeping%20the%20selvedge%20edge%20of%20my%20felt%20lined%20up%20with%20the%20left%20edge%20of%20my%20risers%20to%20keep%20everything%20nice%20and%20even.%20Glue%20the%20felt%20into%20place%20on%20the%20front%20of%20the%20lower%20step%20in%20this%20pattern%20I___________I%20It's%20not%20necessary%20to%20glue%20the%20upper%20edge. Now%20you%20can%20snip%20away%20the%20excess%20felt%20on%20the%20right%20side%20of%20the%20first%20step Now%20work%20the%20felt%20over%20the%20step%20and%20make%20sure%20it's%20relatively%20even%20and%20smooth%20and%20glue%20it%20into%20place%20in%20the%20same%20pattern%20I_____________I%20Keep%20smoothing%20and%20gluing%20until%20you%20get%20to%20the%20back%20edge.%20Now%20snip%20off%20all%20the%20excess%20felt Glue%20into%20place%20along%20the%20sides%20and%20the%20back%20edge Now%20you%20only%20have%20the%20sides%20left%20to%20deal%20with.%20If%20the%20risers%20will%20be%20in%20a%20bookcase%20there's%20no%20need%20to%20felt%20the%20sides%20as%20they%20won't%20be%20seen.%20For%20my%20shelves,%20I%20have%20two%20risers%20side%20by%20side%20so%20I%20only%20need%20to%20felt%20one%20end%20on%20this%20set. If%20you%20have%20scrap%20pieces%20this%20is%20a%20good%20place%20to%20use%20it.%20Just%20glue%20along%20all%20the%20edges%20and%20snip%20them%20off%20even Here's%20my%20completed%20riser Now%20for%20the%20fun%20part!%20Here's%20my%20shelf,%20packed%20full%20of%20ponies%20but%20I'm%20only%20able%20to%20see%20the%20ones%20on%20the%20front%20row.%20Ho-hum. Now%20here's%20the%20same%20shelf%20with%20the%20riser%20in%20use!%20Way%20better,%20no?

My risers were cut to accommodate mostly G1 and G3 ponies so if you're only displaying G4s or babies you could work in an extra level on your risers and have even more room. It all depends on what you're displaying and where you're displaying it. Make a few test patterns on regular paper and hold them up to the spot you intend to put them to make sure of the fit. Also hold ponies up to them to make sure the steps are the right height for the look you want to achieve.

Please post your results in this thread if you make these risers, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Cotton candy is now a bat.

This is however, a very good idea. I've been looking for a new shelf to display my ponies, and can't find a good combination of a shelf that's tall enough and with enough shelves to adequately hold all of my ponies. When I get a new shelf I'll definitely fenagle something like together.

Thanks for the tutorial!

Great idea and a beautifully done tutorial. Thanks for the tips. I have a different shelving system in place, but if I ever change it, I 'd love to try to do the risers like this.

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.

It's funny, but I was just thinking of attempting to make something like this just the other day! Didn't think of the foam board though! That is brilliant... much stiffer than cardboard would be! Thanks so much for the tut!

You're all very welcome!

Great tutorial!! If I ever get the time I will definitely use this ^^ thanks for thinking of us and taking your time to make this

thanks for the tutorial, that is fantastic inspiration for me.
also....makes grabby hands for poseable sharebear

Thanks so much for posting this! I've run out of room for my G4 collection on my vanity and I've been needing a way to display all my ponies while still being able to see them well. This seems like the perfect (and inexpensive, yay) solution!

DoctorMowinckel wrote:

Cotton candy is now a bat. This is however, a very good idea. I've been looking for a new shelf to display my ponies, and can't find a good combination of a shelf that's tall enough and with enough shelves to adequately hold all of my ponies. When I get a new shelf I'll definitely fenagle something like together. Thanks for the tutorial!

Pinkie Pie III. You gotta learn to recognize the poses my dear.

This is great! I need to do something like this..... Thanks for sharing!

ABrownCrayon wrote:

DoctorMowinckel wrote: Cotton candy is now a bat. This is however, a very good idea. I've been looking for a new shelf to display my ponies, and can't find a good combination of a shelf that's tall enough and with enough shelves to adequately hold all of my ponies. When I get a new shelf I'll definitely fenagle something like together. Thanks for the tutorial! Pinkie Pie III. You gotta learn to recognize the poses my dear.

Cotton Candy is 'hanging around' in the first pic, as well as PPIII. ;D


Nice tutorial! The foam board stuff is a genius! I've been using any piece of cardboard or styrofoam I could find to make risers. For a while my display was a big mess of different shelf units so I needed all kinds of different heights/widths for risers. But this is a great idea for people who only have bookcases to work with.

Oh, those look awesome - and what a great tutorial!

Might be my winter break project. Thanks for posting it.

oooh very nice idea looks really great!
But be careful, this kind of green fabric tends to color the ponies if the air is too humid :/