How to Make Your Own Personalised Jewellery Organiser
This is a project I have been wanting to write about for a while now. I made this back at the beginning of January and I was just so pleased with how it turned out that I wanted to post about it straight away. Unfortunately, there were other things that were more relevant timing-wise (like my Zumba post to keep people going with their New Year’s resolutions or my Valentine’s Card tutorial). But I am really excited to be able to post this now!
Previously, I had very little in the way of organisation for my jewellery – my necklaces were draped over my desk mirror (which looks kind of sweet but really impractical when trying to get the one you want off) and my earrings and bracelets were just sat in a couple of small boxes. I needed something more functional to arrange my bling on but something that would still be pretty to look at. I am so, so pleased with my new framed organiser and I honestly believe it’s something everyone should invest in! You don’t need to be a DIY expert and it only took me a couple of hours to assemble.
The great thing about making your own jewellery organiser is that you can tailor it to your needs. So for me, I know that I have a couple of really long necklaces that I need a lot of space for but not much room for bracelets. I also only wear clip-on earrings so I can attach all of mine onto a piece of wire very easily. The string would work for dangly earrings too – just hook them on – but if you’ve got a lot of stud earrings, you can carry on the drawer handle theme by getting those domed handles (like this) and simply screwing them on upside down so that you get a little dish for your studs. You could put rings in there too – I don’t really wear rings so I had no need for this. So, everyone’s organiser will be different according to each individual’s needs! I find that quite exciting!
Anyway, here’s what you’ll need to make your very own framed jewellery holder…
A large picture frame
A selection of door/drawer handles
Material
Wire
A screwdriver
A drill
A pencil
Step One: Plan out your organiser. Have a good think about what jewellery you want to be able to hang up on your organiser. Maybe you only want a space for your necklaces and bracelets or maybe, like me, you wanted to be able to put all your jewellery up. Either way you should think about how much wall space you have available and how much room your various pieces of jewellery take up so that you know how big a frame you’ll need. Once you have a frame, take out the glass and supplementary picture from your frame and play about with arrangements for your handles until you find a layout that you like.
Step Two: Mark out where your handles will be. This actually depends on whether your handles screw on from the front (like my black D-shaped handles) or the back (like my brass knob handles). You really only really need to mark out where the ones that screw in from the back will be so that you know where to drill a hole. The ones that screw in from the front can be positioned again later and, I realised after I’d already marked them out, you’re going to cover up the marks with your material soon anyway.
Step Three: Drill holes where your handles that screw in from the back will be. This is because the screws for these kind of handles will have a flat head whereas other will have pointed heads that can make their own hole as they get screwed in. If you’re doing this on an inside table like me, put an old towel down beneath where you’re drilling so that you don’t go through the table.
Step Four: Cover the frame back with your material of choice. I’m actually using a dishtowel because I happened to notice it as I was heading to the checkout with my frame and the pattern is just perfect for my room. Be sure to check that it is large enough to cover the dimensions of your frame though. Iron out any creases in your material and stretch it out over the front of the frame’s board. Turn your frame over and press your covered board down into it, trapping in your material with the little tabs. Trim the edges down if needs be.
Step Five: Attach you back-attaching handles. Screw in the handle screw into the holes you drilled earlier. To avoid pulling and tearing the material badly, use some scissors or a craft knife to make a little snip in the fabric where the holes are to allow your screws to pass through smoothly. Attach your handles to the screws.
Step Six: Attach your front-attaching handles. Arrange your handles and any screw-eyes you’re deciding to use and screw them in. You may find it easier to arrange them all, mark out their positions with a pencil and then screw in one at a time rather than worrying about keeping them all the right positions as you screw one in.
Step Eight: String out some wire between your screw-eyes. You might not be using screw eyes, in which case congratulations! Your organiser is complete! If you are planning on using them however, keep reading. Wrap one end of your wire around one screw-eye leaving a short length still loose at the end. Take the rest of you wire over to your other screw-eye and do the same there. With you loose ends, wrap them around each screw-eye a couple more times and also around the length of wire that is stretched out between them to secure it.
So there you have it! Now you can put it up on a wall, or prop it up on a desk, and arrange your jewellery as desired. I hope you love yours as much as I love mine! Remember to take pictures and share them with me on Instagram or Twitter - @mindofabadger
