I’ve been wanting a jewelry organizer for a long time. Forever really. Trying and trying to find ideas on pinterest.

But sometimes to find something that fits you, you just have to make it yourself. Add your own flare, sass, pizazz.

My sass usually comes with a side of skulls.

I don’t have a lot of jewelry but what I do have and wear on a regular enough basis was in dire need of a home. Prior to our move I used 4 nails in a wall (rectangular shaped) with a thin head band, that’s where I hung my earrings. Necklaces hung on a ‘tie’ hook type thing.

While thrifting I found a wooden dish drying rack. It was about $3 and I held it in my hands for a good 5+ minutes trying to decide if and how I could make it into a jewelry organizer. After a time one of the owners asked me if I knew what it was. I laughed out loud realizing what it must have looked like while I was going through a million variations of how I could upcycle it.

What you Need:

• Leftover paint from another project or the smallest kind from a hardware store and a small tray to pour paint into
• Foam brushes and a small 3″ paint roller
• flat head screw driver
• pliers and needle nose pliers
• sand paper
• wire cutters
• hot glue gun, waterproof epoxy adhesive (also great for jewelry making), and/or super glue (I used all 3 at different times)
• Pushpin/thumb tacks
• Random beads (from jewelry making) or marbles or whatever
• magazine clippings
• modge podge or acrylic gel medium (I used gloss)
• acrylic paint brush
• sequins (optional)
• 2 nails
• hammer
• newspaper
• 20-23 gauge jewelry wire

Do it!

• Dismantle the rack into 3 pieces, using the flat head screw driver and pliers pry at the rim part of the grommet until it starts to bend up, then use the pliers to grab hold and pull out/apart. The hardest part about this project was trying to figure out the name for what held the 3 pieces together and then how to remove them. I never did learn their name in order to google it—until after the fact—but they are grommets.  
• If you need to – sand any rough spots and wipe the dust off by using a damp cloth or towel

• Pick any of the 3 pieces you want to use, I used the largest side
• Lay down newspapers, add some paint to your tray and start painting, the foam brushes work great on the ‘inside’ edges while the roller is perfect for the ‘outside’ facing pieces
• Paint 1-3 coats allowing about an hour drying time between coats
• Allow to dry 24-48 hours before next step
• While drying visualize what direction you want to hang it, how long your necklaces are and where they might hang without a lot of overlapping, what kind of earrings you wear etc

• Pick out magazine clippings and decide where they’ll fit on the rack, using modge podge or the gel medium and the paint brush, cover the back of the clipping in one of those adhesives, affix to the rack and wrap if needed, finish by applying a coat of the adhesive over the clipping and a portion of the rack – it will dry clear so no worries. Repeat as desired with more clippings

• Attach random beads that are 1/2″ to 1″ in random spots near the edges using a hot glue gun – I did it for decoration but it turned utilitarian and holds additional bracelets and necklaces

• I covered the bead holes with small magazine clippings and gel medium, keeping it artsy

Bead/Wire Necklace Hooks

• Using the 20-23 gauge wire, cut longer pieces 3-4″ and pull them through the beads, using needle nose pliers, spiral the wire on the top side of the bead so it won’t go back through and bend the wire out to create a hook, finishing with a spiral for design
• Attach these to the sides of the rack using any of the glues. I started with hot glue but the heavier pearls pulled that down over a few weeks, I then reattached with super glue. Recap: hot glue for lighter necklaces, super glue or epoxy for heavier items

Bead Earring Wire

• Using 2 beads and a long piece of wire, create the earring ‘bar’
• Push the wire through the bead and create a spiral stopper for the first side, draw out the length of the wire until it’s to your desired length + a couple of inches for the end bead’s spiral
• Affix to the rack, one side at a time, using one of the glues (I used hot glue – it’s still holding)
• Pull taut to attach the second side
• Attach a pushpin under the wire in the middle for architectural support 😉

Pushpin Necklace Holders

• Using the wire cutters, remove the ‘nail’ part of the pushpin, as close to the base as you can, decorate the other end with sequin, magazine clipping or something else
• Affix to rack—starting below where your longest earring will hang—using the right glue that will hold the necklace. I started with hot glue and found that 2 necklaces needed a stronger glue.
• Originally I thought I could push the pushpin into the rack but found that was not the case, I even tried using a hammer, broke a few pushpins that way – hence the above method

The Wall

•  Eye where the nails will go, I placed 2 in the wall and then hung the rack over those 2 nails

Closing Notes

• Definitely make this your own using what you have on hand first, I only bought the pushpins and of course the thrifted rack
• If you make this, I would LOVE to see it! Send a pic tweet to @meeshfelt or share on fys’s facebook page
• I haven’t used the other 2 pieces for anything but might use the one that looks like a sign in the garden next year

Thanks for reading!

xoxo