Wedding Spinner

These wedding spinners were the last thing I put together before our wedding.

The idea is to have an engaging spinner that pushes people to get out of their seat during. Either to grab a drink, food or post importantly to join us on the dance floor!

It took one night to put them together and most of the time was spent allowing coats to dry.

• Plywood - enough scrap to make 4-1/2" squares
• Paint - house paint works
• Printed Stickers - I used fedex to print but you can also use an inkjet sticker pack
• Two Part Epoxy - West Systems or similar... 105+207 is what I like but any of the 200 series is perfect
• Carpet Tacks - pretty sure I paid a dollar at home depot for a 30pack
• Craft Arrows - this is the same set of craft arrows I found at Michaels. The tacks it comes with are fine for construction paper but not for wood.

My scrap plywood determined the shape for the spinners. I used the max width to make 10 pieces.

I used a Ryobi 10" table saw I purchased from the local habitat restore. To round the edges I used a Porter Cable router in a Craftsman router table.

You could certainly get more creative with painting the base.

I reached for white house paint. It was easy to coat the plywood and was on hand. Because I printed my graphics on white label paper I wanted it to just blend into the background.

These are pretty simple to make. I used an old version of Adode InDesign to layout. Provided are files for MS Word and pdfs of the clipart and spinners with our instagram tag removed.

Easy to put together your own by simply googling clipart images. Or hope the files can help get you started.

Using stickers is just easy. I was concerned about timing and thought that glue (decoupage) could look sloppy.

Ideally I'd have liked to print on transparent paper but that wasn't an option at our fedex.

There are two parts to ensure a clear finish:

Mixing

If you've never worked with epoxy it can be intimidating. I had experience years ago repairing an old wooden boat. You start to learn that it is more forgiving than it first appears.

• Measuring Devices. I picked up a measuring cup set from dollartree. Then us the measurer for the base and hardener that matches the ratio. That's basically what they sell you if you aren't willing to buy the full pump kit to ensure mixing ratios.
• Proper Measuring. When using measuring cups the important thing is to have a tool to scrape out all the epoxy each time you fill the cup. Otherwise you don't get enough hardener (smaller cup, greater percent surface area) because a greater amount remains on the cup when you fill refill.

Brushing

• The Brush. I simply used a disposable paint brush. I wrapped the brush with packing tape leaving only 1" of brush. The dollartree set I used is particularly cheap (they've actually gotten better since). The tape helps improve any brush.
• Application. From there brush the epoxy on. It's important to move quickly but not to rush. You have only a few minutes that the epoxy is workable. It will self level.
• Drying. After applying I recommend a drying rack or strips of wood. Wipe away any drips after 15-30minutes.

The final piece includes the spinner arrow. I used a simple carpet tack. Center on the spinner and tap in place.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

I had a great time preparing for our wedding last fall. Over the next few months I plan to post more from our formal wedding. We also had a backyard wedding for friends and neighbors that I published last summer. Very practical if you're planning for a small wedding and impacted by Covid.

Jeff & Jess