How to Make a Cardboard Sandwich Board

A sandwich board is a type of marketing or picketing sign that can be worn on your person. The name sandwich board comes from the fact that the board is made up of two signs, held together by rope and worn hanging over a person’s shoulders. In a sense, the person wearing the sandwich board becomes the meat of the "sandwich," while the signs are the "bread." These signs can be used to advertise anything. Business owners hire people to wear them to advertise specials and bring in new customers. Individuals can create and wear them to advertise their individual services or to express their feelings as part of a protest or other public demonstration.

Place one cardboard piece up against your body. Decide how big you want your sign and where you need to cut the piece to make it a comfortable fit. It should hang from about chest height to just above your knees. Use a marker to mark where you need to cut the cardboard.

Cut the cardboard based on your marks. Once that piece of cardboard is cut, lay it on the other piece and trace. Cut the other piece of cardboard to match the first.

Hold the first piece of cardboard up to where you want it to hang from. With the marker, make a mark on each side where your shoulders are. This will be where the rope is attached to hang the sign.

Poke a hole in each side of the cardboard where you made the marks with the scissors. Place duct tape around the edges of the holes to reinforce them so they do not tear the cardboard. Repeat this with the other piece of cardboard.

Place the rope through the hole in the first piece of cardboard and tie a knot. Repeat this in the second hole. Take the other ends of each piece of rope and place them through the holes of the other piece of cardboard and tie a knot in each. Try hanging the boards over your shoulders and adjust the knots so the sign hangs where you want it to.

Create you message with the markers and paint and you are ready to hit the sidewalks with your advertising sandwich board.