If you’ve never heard of Pinterest, you’re missing out. I recently discovered it, though I don’t remember where and I’m constantly stumbling across it all over the interwebs. From the Pinterest website:

“Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

It’s really a pretty cool site. Anyway, as I mention in my About Me, my interests do not lie solely in the culinary field. I love being crafty, both through painting, crocheting, and other various ways. One of my favorite things to do, when I have time, is to reproduce something I saw in a store for cheaper, or to create something I want that I can’t find in a store. This post is about the latter.

I’ve been wanting something to hold all my jewelry. I mean I don’t have that much, but I’m the kind of person that wears the same earrings, necklace and bracelets every day because I’m too lazy too switch (yep, I wear them in the shower and to bed too). But  sometimes when I head to work, I want to look a little nicer. However, with all my jewelry shoved in a case in my closet where I can’t see what I have, and with no counter space for a standing jewelry holder, I had to take matters into my own hands! I needed to make a jewelry holder that would hang on a wall…

I had seen a few ideas on Pinterest that caught my attention:

Inspiration #1, Inspiration #2, Inspiration #3

And so I got to work on my own little project. I knew that while I liked the idea of all three inspiration pieces, I needed mine to combine all parts. I wanted to interior of the frame to be able to hold earrings, and I pictured the necklaces hanging on the sides. I liked inspiration #3, but I felt it would hang too low if the necklaces were below so I’d put the hooks on the side. Also, I liked the fine mesh in #2 because it would give more options for where to hang things. So I started by finding a disgusting old wooden frame from my grandma’s. This isn’t the frame I used, because I forgot to take a before, but this was a similar one I found at grandma’s, since I wasn’t sure which would be better at the time:

I know, ugly, right?? I knew the frame needed to be real wood and have a thick side, so I would be able to screw the necklace hooks in. The frame I found had glass on it and something inside, both of which I promptly removed. I had an idea that I wanted this to look rustic and whitewashed. I took some white paint I had laying around and I got one of those foam brushes wet but squeezed out most of the water. I painted the whole frame in a watered down white, wiping down with a paper towel to keep the application light. Next, I bought some thin wire mesh and some small hooks at an art supply store. I cut the mesh to size and fit it in the back of the frame and secured with large metal tacks. I then screwed the hooks into either side, staggering them left and right so that the necklaces wouldn’t hang on each other.

Slightly staggered hooks to prevent necklaces from hanging on top of each other.

In the end, I was seriously impressed with my creation (if I don’t say so myself). In fact, I’m considereing making a few more and selling them on etsy…when i get some free time.

This whole craft project is part of the Pinterest Challenge, a nifty little idea I saw on the Young House Love site. Be sure to check out the hosts of this fun little idea: Sherry’s, Katie’s, Emily’s and Lana’s projects. Thanks for organizing the challenge, ladies! Can’t wait to see what everyone else came up with!