Solving the jewelry storage problem

4th September 2007

Solving the jewelry storage problem

posted in Tutorials, Crafts, How-To, Decor, Organization |

For a while, my jewelry has been lumped together in a jewelry box. When I want to wear earrings, I have to hunt for mates… when I want to wear a necklace, I must first unravel it from a tangle of its cousins.

Not anymore! If you have this problem too, you might enjoy making some gorgeous jewelry boards for your bedroom (or dressing room, if you have one… I have heard of such things).

You’ll need frames. Buy them on sale! Sometimes Michael’s has a selection of frames on clearance. I got mine at Linens n Things. Buy one get one 1/2 off.

You will also need cork. I bought 4 square-foot boards from Michael’s with a 50% off coupon. I only spent 5 bucks on them.

You will need hot glue, a ruler, an exacto knife or similar blade, stapler (regular kind), fabric, coordinating ribbon, coordinating pins, and a FEW minutes.

Remove the glass from the frames, but save the cardboard. Using the cardboard as a guide, cut your cork to size. It’s ok to piece it in order to make it big enough. No one will know.

Then, use your amazing hot glue gun to affix the cork to the cardboard.

Now, cut your fabric a little larger than your cork/cardboard mess. You can always trim it later, so err on the larger size. Place your mess cork-side-down onto the wrong side of the fabric. Stretch and staple. Staple a lot. And look out for those corners!

Now, if you just want a plain old covered cork board, you’re pretty much done.

For the magical jewelry boards though, pull out your coordinating ribbon.

Turn over your boards and measure where you want your ribbons. Mark with a pen. Don’t worry… no one will see the back.

Now, wrap your ribbons and staple staple staple (on the back, of course).

See what we’re getting at? Now they’re ready for the frames!

You’ll probably have to kind of cram them into the frames, because they’re a little bulkier than a photo… but it’s worth it. Make sure you secure your board by bending the little metal thingies down.

Check it out!

Now pull out your coordinating pins and your ruler. Add pins below your ribbons, about an inch apart. These are what you’ll hang your necklaces on. I pushed my pins in almost all the way, and then bent them out a bit so they’re like hooks.

Now, hang your jewelry and you’re ready to go! Hook your earrings over the ribbons, and hang your necklaces.

I really like this because everything is out where I can see it. It also really looks like the jewelry is framed, and since I chose frames, fabric, and ribbons that coordinate with our bedroom, it’s like a piece of art.

Let me know if you make some! I’d love to see photos.
And if you have a different solution for your jewelry storage, please comment about it. Another reader may prefer your solution.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Tutorials, Crafts, How-To, Decor, Organization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 On September 5th, 2007, yayanana said:

Too Cute! My Birthday is in November…
Cherry wood frames…hmmmmm

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 4:30 am

2 On September 5th, 2007, Joyful Abode said:

Haha nice hint!

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 5:22 am

3 On September 5th, 2007, BreadBox said:

To create partitions in an 8×10 or so jewelery box, make origami masu boxes: about 2×2 inches each: they are one of the simplest and oldest origami designs.
There is also another related fold, not so well known, which creates a little 2×2 divider for each box, so an 8×10 box can be partitioned into 80 little areas in which to place rings or earrings.
And if you use really nice origami paper, it can be extremely decorative too!

N.

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 5:35 am

4 On September 5th, 2007, MrsDragon said:

I love my solution which I bought off etsy: http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=5089426

Simply adore it. : )

PS. I tagged you on my blog, so feel free to participate if you like. : )

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 5:44 am

5 On September 5th, 2007, Joyful Abode said:

Those are some other neat ideas!

Thanks MrsDragon… I had a hard time coming up with random “things about me”, but I’ll think on it.

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 5:57 am

6 On September 5th, 2007, Bethany said:

That is way better than the wire mesh method and much prettier! Love it!

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 7:41 am

7 On September 5th, 2007, Jessica said:

what do you do if you have earings on posts not hooks?

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 11:03 am

8 On September 5th, 2007, Joyful Abode said:

The guy just came up with a great idea for post earrings. Staple a VERTICAL ribbon, but only connect it at the top, so it hangs freely. Then put your post earrings through that ribbon.
If you don’t like the dangling idea, you can add a snap at the bottom so that it’s more secure when you’re not removing/replacing earrings.

Of course… I don’t wear post earrings, so that wasn’t a concern of mine with these.

Bethany, I’m so glad you like it!

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 3:27 pm

9 On September 5th, 2007, Michelle said:

Looks great! But if you don’t want your jewelry out on display, you can do what my friend did. She adhered cork board to the inside of her medicine cabinet door and used push pins to hang her necklaces (though even in this case you could still use pretty fabric, ribbon, and pins as well…for your own personal enjoyment).

posted on September 5th, 2007 at 6:28 pm

10 On September 7th, 2007, lindsay said:

all I did with my earrings was to take one of the large embroidery hoops, a doubled over piece of tulle (is that how you spell it?), and a little glue for stabilty. I fixed that all together and hung it inside my bathroom door. I love it!

posted on September 7th, 2007 at 8:45 am

11 On September 9th, 2007, yayanana said:

SO MANY good ideas….

posted on September 9th, 2007 at 6:10 am

12 On November 16th, 2007, Bedroom in the new house | Joyful Abode said:

[…] This one is “my side.” Do you remember my beautiful jewelry storage? […]

posted on November 16th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

13 On November 18th, 2007, Stylish jewelry storage | diyblog.info said:

[…] is why I was so excited to discover Joyful Abode’s jewelry storage tutorial. She uses frames, cork, fabric, and ribbon to create a jewelry storage system that is both useful […]

posted on November 18th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

14 On November 18th, 2007, Courtney said:

This is really cute but you should NOT hang beaded necklaces. Over time the weight of the beads will make the necklace stretch. This is probably not a big concern for plastic/costume jewelry, but if you have pearls or stone beads you should lay the necklaces flat if possible. Perhaps some kind of shelf or pocket would work.

posted on November 18th, 2007 at 10:49 pm

15 On December 31st, 2007, Top Posts of 2007 | Joyful Abode said:

[…] Solving the Jewelry Storage Problem: My elegant solution to storing AND displaying jewelry in a way that lets me easily add it to my daily wardrobe. […]

posted on December 31st, 2007 at 9:27 am

16 On January 3rd, 2008, Kieutiepie said:

Totally cute idea!

posted on January 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm

17 On February 2nd, 2008, MajentaDesigns said:

Thats such a cool idea, i’ll hafta make that sometime! thanks for sharing!

posted on February 2nd, 2008 at 9:08 am

18 On February 2nd, 2008, Jus Shar Designs said:

How clever! I think my mom needs something like this. Great Mother’s Day gift.

posted on February 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 am

19 On June 22nd, 2008, ShirleyKer said:

great idea! Another suggetion, Frame or trim with ribbon the plastic sheet that is usually used to do needlework and hang on the wall. The holes are perfect for hanging all types of earrings.

posted on June 22nd, 2008 at 8:31 pm