I've gotten the DIY bug. In a big way.
It all started with Pinterest. Pinterest is a website that allows you to collect links and photos from all over the net onto one web page. The best part about Pinterest is that the site attaches the original link to the photos you pin to your page. According to their About page: "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."
I have been on Pinterest almost since the beginning and it's an obsession. I check it multiple times every day. I use the iPhone app most of the time but you can actually see more on a regular computer.
A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon this photo and immediately pinned it to one of my boards.
The link to the original photo and idea is here: http://gratefulprayerthankfulheart.blogspot.com/2011/05/necklacejewelry-organizer.html
I have a pin board called "Projects I Want To Do" and that's where this link sat.
Along with a bunch of other projects. But I couldn't get this idea out of my mind and I just HAD to do it. Because I also knew that my dresser looked like this and something needed to be done about it. And that's only about 1/4 of the jewelry mess. I have it scattered everywhere.
So, I ran to Home Depot and came home with these three items:
A laminate white shelf measuring 8 x 36 inches for about $4.50
Command Picture Hanging Strips (a brilliant invention that I use everywhere in the house!)
And silver upholstery tacks.
The original idea involved cutting trim and painting and I didn't want that mess. So, I came up with the shelving idea and, once I priced it, it was so cheap that I didn't even consider another option.
I started by measuring out two lines on the top of the shelf. I wanted staggered tacks on the shelf to allow me to fit more jewelry on it.
The lines were very faint and made with pencil so I could easily erase them later.
And then I simply started hammering the tacks in.
I quickly found out that my fingers are too big to hold the tacks so I grabbed some tiny pliers I have and used those to hold the tacks so that I could gently hammer them into the shelf.
I didn't measure anything but I'm guessing the rows of tacks are about 1.5 inches apart and the tacks themselves are probably 1 inch apart.
And here it is after I used the Command hangers to hang it in my bathroom and after I had loaded on some of my jewelry. You can see that at the far end of the shelf, I added much larger gaps between the tacks to allow more room for the chunkier jewelry and bracelets. The original link suggested that and I loved the idea.
I keep moving things around just a bit so that the lengths don't tangle but the tacks are far enough apart that it really doesn't matter.
So, there you go. A DIY jewelry organizer for under $10. Now, I have to make something for my earrings. :)
