The word triptych means “three-folded” and usually describes some sort of paneled painting. I wanted a background for my little pagan shrine, so i made this little triptych-like desk display.
You can decorate it however you want. Maybe with some pictures or with seasonal motives. The possibilities are endless! 🙂
If you want to make the green man mask that is shown in the picture, you’ll find the tutorial here.
How to make it and downloadable pattern:
Materials and where to buy:
Birch Plywood (available here*)
4 small hinges (available here*)
acrylic paints (available here*)
double sided tape (available here*)
Alternative – if you want to make a simpler version of this triptych desk display, use sturdy cardboard instead of plywood. You can use strong duct tape (available here*) from both sides instead of hinges.
1. Download the pattern and print it out. Transfer the pattern onto thin plywood (available here*). You can make a template out of cardboard beforehand.
Downloadable Pattern:
2. Cut out the pieces with a saw. (If you use cardboard instead of plywood, you’ll need a strong cutter or scissors.)
3. Lay out your pieces to check the size and shape. Do they all fit together? Does every arch start from the same height? If not, you’ll have to correct that in the next step.
4. Use sandpaper to smooth out the edges. If some piece is a little bigger than the others, you can reduce it with the sandpaper to the right size.
5. Lay out your pieces again and check the size and shape. Make some last adjustments if necessary.
6. Decorate your pieces however you like. I applied a coat of blue acrylic paint (available here*) and then added some pagan symbols. You can download a printable pattern for the symbols I used here. I made myself some stencils with paper and transfered the symbols with a pencil. Then I colored them in.
7. Assemble your pieces with little hinges. Do not use the little screws that come with them. The plywood is far too thin for that. Use strong double sided tape (available here*) instead.
8. Place your hinges on your triptych pieces and leave a little gap between them. Try to open and close your triptych before you glue the hinges on permanently. Maybe you’ll need to make tha gap a little wider.
And that’s it! Maybe it looks a little complicated, but it’s not. If you afraid to cut out the wood pieces, you can surely ask someone to do it for you. I’m going to make another triptych display with a halloween theme! 😀 And maybe one for christmas, and…….. 😀
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I hope people realize that the dimensions of the doors are 14cm x 29.5cm not 24cm x 29,5cm.
Thank you! 🙂 You are right of course! I fixed it now