Jewelry Inspiration and Goldfingers

Wow, it's been so long since the last time I wrote!  Believe me, there has been no shortage of curiosity and crazy Pinterest ideas, I just haven't really had a whole lot of time to write.  Sad, I know.  I'm sure there are many heartbroken people out there...  Okay, not really, but whatevs.  Anyways... 

Jewelry Display

Sad jewelry box.

My latest experiment has been a very time consuming one.  You see, I have a little bit of jewelry... This jewelry was sitting in a very old makeup box-converted jewelry box.  I have always hated the thing, but what the heck, I just hid it in my closet.  This wasn't ideal because the jewelry was all stuck in little drawers and expected to behave.  However, when jewelry is left to it's own devices in close quarters, it fights.  My necklaces became entangled into one big mega-necklace and my earrings would just give up on life and disconnect from their hooks in hopes of cheating on their mates with other earrings.  Dramatic?  Maybe.  The point is that it was not the ideal situation and my jewelry was getting battered.  

I once helped a cousin organize her jewelry in a way that displayed it rather than hiding it.  I was honestly a little bit jealous, but my small apartment doesn't allow for the same kind of space she has for her jewelry.  So I started googling jewelry displays and found one that I really liked that involved a picture frame, a shelf, and some knobs.  This was my inspiration.  I even pinned it for posterity.

So I knew this project had to be free to dirt cheap, so I gathered all the things I thought I would need in my living room and created a pseudo-workstation.

I grabbed some certificate displays, left over from my wedding (an oops purchase), my handy dandy hot glue gun and glue, ribbon, scissors, fabric, cardboard, pencil, eraser, box cutter, ruler, the old makeup box, thumbtacks, a picture hanging kit full of hooks and wire, spray paint, and a sharpie paint pen.  This didn't all make it in the picture as I made it up as I went.

The first thing I did was measure and cut out enough cardboard for my frames, then I wrapped the cardboard in fabric and glued it into the frames, adding the back of the frame for easy hang-up.  I did two of the striped material (an old shirt) and one of the blue because I liked having the blue piece as an accent.  The blue was an old scarf that I never used for some reason or another.  These would be my earring holders.

Next, I created the "shelves" for my bracelets, rings, and necklaces.  I used drawers from the old jewelry box to fulfill this need.  First, I measured and glued bobby pins (alternating ends for the necklaces that would need to be secured in the grasp of the bobby pin) to what would be the new bottom of the shelf, then I measured and glued hooks in to hold the bracelets.  I then spray painted the outside of the drawers and the bobby pins (lightly dusting the inside for a little shimmer) gold.  I used my sharpie paint pen to make the edges nice and pretty and precise and to make sure it matched the gold stripe in the earring frames.  

After all this, I sat back and had to think about how in the world I was going to hang up earrings from the frames.  I told you I was making this up as I went, right?  That was when I decided to add wire, hooks, and ribbons to the frames to hang them up.  I used thumbtacks to add a little more support to the fabric after using hot glue to attach the wires, hooks, and ribbons.

I haven't put it up on the wall yet, but this is what it looks like.  (When I hang it up, I will post an update.)

Goldfingers

Also, this happened during one of my brainstorms on how to get the earrings to hang up nicely.  To get this effect, draw on your nails using the sharpie paint pen and then put a top coat on.  Just a heads up, the paint does not fully dry and will discolor the brush of your topcoat.  That is all.

Oh, and this...

Also, on an unrelated note, I am in the process of trying out an oiling technique to help clear up my acne.  I have tried so many different kinds of treatment for my acne (that I have had since I was 12 years old) that I am willing to try smearing oil on my face.  Who would have thought this day would come?  Anyways, I will post again later after I have finished this little experiment.