DIY Phone Stand: Custom Easel Tutorial

Phone stands are very handy – especially for me. It ensures I have a place to put my phone on and I know I’ll always find it there (if not, I’d probably misplace it). It’s also good to use as a holder when you’re video-calling with someone. There are a ton of different DIY phone stand ideas circulating the web, but I love easel stands the most. The only problem is, most easels I find have areas that are too thin for me to set my phone on, since I keep my phone in a case. Do you have the same problem? Well, don’t fret! I’m sharing with you a tutorial on how to create a DIY phone stand that will hold your phone with your phone case on! It’s a bit of work but it was worth it for me – it looks like this easel was actually made for my phone to lay on. Check out how I made it!

DIY Phone Stand Easel Supplies:

Darice Studio 71 Mini Wood Easel
Darice Wood Craft Sticks
Wood Glue
Darice Craft and Hobby Knife or Box Cutter
Sandpaper
Pencil or Pen
Acrylic Paint – I used Burnt Umber & Black
Darice Paintbrush
Matte Mod Podge
Embellishments – I used Darice Foil Tape

Step 1. To begin this DIY phone stand tutorial, gather your materials. Apart from these, I also used wood glue, sandpaper and Mod Podge (not pictured).

Step 2. Align a popsicle stick on the perpendicular bar of the easel and trace the length and width of the bar.

Step 3. Carefully cut the piece with a craft knife or box cutter – you may want to use a steel rule as a guide. Alternatively, you can use scissors to cut the lines perpendicular to the grain of the popsicle stick to make it easier, but use a craft knife for the line that goes parallel to the grain to reduce splitting.

Step 4. Using wood glue, adhere the piece onto the perpendicular bar, and wait to dry. Cut as many pieces as you need to accommodate the thickness of your phone. I ended up cutting and attaching three layers of popsicle stick wood to my DIY phone stand to accommodate the current phone case I have on my phone.

Step 5. Sand down all the edges until you have aligned and flat surfaces on each side on of the perpendicular bar.

Step 6. Now let’s make the facing! Again, trace the perpendicular bar onto a piece of popsicle stick. Locate the center of the traced bar, and measure 0.5″ on either side. Now draw a diagonal line from the measured point outwards, and do the same on the other point but leaning to the opposite side.

Step 7. Now, cut the piece and adhere onto the perpendicular bar of the easel.

Step 8. Wait for the piece to dry and test the DIY phone stand out on your phone. Perfect fit! Sand down all the sides, edges and surfaces until you are happy with how it looks like.

Step 9. It’s time to decorate the easel – I love color, but I tend to stick with neutral palettes when making home or desk accessories. To color my easel, I used a mix of water, burnt umber and black acrylic paint to create a walnut ‘stain’ similar to what I did with these Rustic Planter Boxes. To give the easel part a finished look, I covered it with matte Mod Podge.

Step 10. After the mod podge is dry, add some embellishments to your DIY phone stand. To add some interest, I used some decorative foil tape in copper and covered the perpendicular bar with it. And it’s done!

Now you have a completely customized and artsy DIY phone stand. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you’re looking for other DIY desk accessories to create, give this studded block DIY photo frame a try.