Friday, December 07, 2007

Making Sense Out of Jewelry

How many times have you fished through your jewelry box to find the other missing earring? Or forgotten you actually owned a piece of jewelry? I can now see at a glance all the jewelry I possess.

The last Darfur rally was the source of my inspiration. I stood next to the Temple Micah Administrator, a very savvy lady, as I waved my “Honk for Darfur” sign. We started talking about household clutter and somehow got onto an idea of hers to use a pegboard with hooks to organize jewelry.

I had recently been thinking I needed to do something to organize what little jewelry I had, having depended on a small jewelry box I had gotten in Japan 25 years ago and the little boxes that jewelry often comes in.

After mulling over the pegboard idea for a week or so, I decided to try my approach to this, a piece of lined black velvet with multi-color ribbons I found remnants at G Street, making the cost minimal. I chose ribbon colors that I liked a lot. Horsehair braid seemed just the right thing to use for earrings.

As I put my worldly possessions out on the dining room table, I discovered a number of things I had entirely forgotten about.

I had to baste every seam because this was the slippery velvet that slides all over otherwise. At 2:00 a.m. this morning I finally had to quit sewing ribbons on and go to bed. This morning saw the finished product.

One of the nice things about this design is the fact that I can simply take it off the door and roll it up if I go out of town. As my husband pointed out, however, a burglar could easily do the same thing.

Oh well, there’s nothing really valuable in the whole lot. And I’d rather be reminded of my choices than to have to scrounge for them in the old jewelry box.

There are probably much better ways to do this, even things like this already custom-designed. But I’ll bet there’s not another that looks just like mine!

9 Comments:

Blogger Kate said...

so cool............ Years ago I bought a wooden jewelry hanger that I usually nailed to the inside of the closet door. I now have a huge walk-in closet so it is nailed to one wall. It is 18X18 inches with 4 strips of wood horizontally. The top strip has slits in it to hold two-piece pierced earrings and each strip of wood has about 20 holes across it to hold wire earrings. The bottom of the piece has about 10 pegs sticking out to hang necklaces. I have loved it but your velvet and bows outstrip it for beauty!

12:03 AM  
Blogger KC said...

My Mother was jewelry was stolen while she worked in the garden. Only the rings on her fingers were saved because she wore them rather than keep them locked up. Enjoy your pieces hanging beautifully on the wall, as you wear them, and for all the memories they carry.

6:38 AM  
Blogger Pauline said...

you are amazingly creative.

6:49 AM  
Blogger Barbara said...

Kate -- Take a picture of your jewelry organizer and either post it or send it to me, OK? I want to see how someone else did this!

KC -- I'll bet your mother still misses many of those pieces, but knowing her she didn't grieve outwardly too long; there were too many other things to do!

My mother's jewelry was stolen AFTER she died. However, they didn't get her wedding rings or diamond earrings because my father had hidden them behind a panel in back of the wood stove. He was somewhat like a squirrel. Can you imagine how much fun it was to go through that house years later after he died?

Pauline -- It was a simple solution to what had become a real problem. Anyone could have done it.

1:10 PM  
Blogger Kristin said...

Very nice. You did a great job and seeing pieces should make it easier to remember you have them, right?

7:22 PM  
Blogger Barbara said...

Kristin -- It was a fun project. I like projects that don't take forever!

9:07 PM  
Blogger GEWELS said...

Very, very nice....and pretty.
I, however, would be WAY too impatient to tie ribbons, mine would end up in a tangled heap on my dresser, I'm afraid.

I did get a pretty hand-painted framed screen to hang wire earrings from. Now they are all displayed on the wall-like a painting- next to my vanity. Not the good ones though- they're hidden from those would-be burglars.

10:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks great!!!

Your husband is right, but the burglar could just as easily take the jewelry box too. Maybe even easier to take the jewelry box, depending on how you have attached it. T

1:11 PM  
Blogger Barbara said...

Gewels -- It takes no more time to tie a ribbon than it did to make space in the jewelry box. It's fun to be able to look at my meager collection and remember the story behind every piece.

T -- I'm just banking on the fact that burglars will seek out fancier houses than ours!

11:18 PM  

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