November 10, 2010

Jewelry Wall Art Project

Pin It Now! Who stores their jewelry in something like this?
I did, until I decided I was tired of not knowing what jewelry I even owned. By having it all crammed into this jewelry box, I never could find what I needed when I needed it. And every once in awhile, when it was time to re-organize my little treasures, I'd always be surprised to find something that I had completely forgotten about. That's the problem with these sorts of boxes.

The other problem is that I have started to collect vintage jewelry that is just too beautiful to hide away in an box. Inspired by my friend Valerie, who has a lovely jewelry line which I blogged about a few months back (Introducing...Nettie & Val's Jewelry Line) I decided to ditch this ugly thing and put my jewels on display. 
Part of Valerie's personal jewelry collection.
If you need a better solution for your jewelry, too here's a step-by-step guide to my Jewelry Wall Art Project.

Items needed:
1 Canvas
Paint (Optional) 
Scrapbook paper
Spray Mount
Double-stick tape

Here's a canvas I've had laying around for a looooooong time. It was painted green ages ago. This particular canvas is a 36" x 36", but any size would work. It really depends on how much jewelry you want to hang.
I also had this scrapbook paper on hand. Kind of weird, because I don't scrapbook. But I thought it was pretty so I bought it, figuring it would come in handy at some point. These particular sheets are about 12" x 12". I used a variety of different patterns in the same color family. Some were from the same package, but I mixed in a few sheets from other paper sets. You could certainly use all the same paper, or even cover with wallpaper scraps.

Once I had my canvas and paper selected, I played around with a few ways to layout the paper. I opted for a symmetrical patchwork pattern.
I then taped the edges of the backside of each sheet of paper with double-stick tape, and sprayed the rest of the surface area with spray mount. (You gotta move quick with this stuff! Definitely know where each piece of paper is going before you commit to the spray.)
After I finished with my gluing, it was time to figure out where my hooks would go. Before I even started with the hooks, I laid my necklaces down to figure out how much space I would need between each hook. Each necklace has a different shape and different visual weight depending on its color and material, and I wanted to make sure the overall look would be balanced. 
For my jewelry hanging hooks, the perfect solution was Command™Damage-Free Hooks. These things are amazing!!! They come in different finished and sizes, so you really have a great range of options stylistically. I opted for the Antique Bronze finish to work with the metals I already have in the bedroom. I hardly need to explain how they work, because they are completely dummy-proof, but basically you just peel paper of a self-adhesive strip, stick it on the hook, peel another piece of paper off the adhesive and stick to your surface...in this case, the paper covered canvas. I used a total of 14 hooks in both the medium and small sizes.

And...here's the final product!

I'm loving my new jewelry display. Only problem? It doesn't hold everything. Guess I'll have to make another one...

(Got great ideas for Command™ hooks? They are currently hosting a contest on their Facebook page. You can win $500 and a flip camera!! You bet I'm entering! Who couldn't use $500???)

If you are ready to eliminate fear from your color and design decisions please call me at 650.867.3896, or shoot me an email at kelly@artestyling.com to discuss your project.

13 comments:

  1. Love it! Beautifully explained, shot and illustrated...arte styling indeed! Nice integration of all of your skills.
    Bravo, La Kellie!

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  2. so pretty! i love the finish of the hooks, too. i have a similar jewelry box, and i just love how chic it is. it makes me want a vanity table, so i could have both my box and a vertical display!

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  3. Thanks, Debra and Emily! Emily, I also use some vintage silver dishes for some of my smaller items, so I have the vertical/horizontal thing happening. And I'm with you - a vanity would be so much fun. No room in our bedroom...or house, for that matter! In a perfect world...

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  4. What a great idea! Now your jewelry is beautiful art :-)

    Hubby made me a jewelry cabinet last year for Christmas. Problem is, he did't actually finish the inside, and 11 months later, it still doesn't have any hooks, so I can't use it :-(

    Good luck in the contest!

    Kelly

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  5. What a great project, Kelly! It looks wonderful! I have a bunch of pretty papers...but I don't scrapbook either. : )

    I hope you're having a wonderful week!

    : )

    Julie M.

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  6. I've been thinking of doing a post on how to store jewelry...! So many options, but I love your board. You chose just the right colors to go with your necklaces...love it. Ok, I will have to try and get a post together: been collecting images for almost a year...

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  7. Kelly,
    This is fabulous!!! That piece of art could hang in a living room - I just love it. You will SO win that contest. Now, what can you do for earrings???

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  8. OK, someone has hidden Martha talents here! This is a great solution. Hanging necklaces is always a challenge and this is visually stunning. I love your dog watching over the project!

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  9. Oooh, so pretty! Those papers are beautiful! Another great source for good papers (free!) are discontinued wallpaper books that decorating stores are often tossing. Just have to ask them. I have lined many a drawer with beautiful William Morris designs. Thanks for the inspiring post, you are one crafty gal!

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  10. Kelly, this is absolutely gorgeous! The colors of the paper match your dresser perfectly, and your jewelry looks so pretty! You've definitely given me an idea...

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  11. Thanks for all the comments..and compliments, everyone!

    Kelly - How sweet of your hubby for making you a jewelry cabinet. Ya know, you might be able to use some of the command hooks for inside....

    Julie - glad to know I'm not the only non-scrapbooker to buy scrapbooking products!

    aneye - looking forward to your post. There are certainly lots of different ways to store jewels!

    Kristie - I bought some little stands at TJ Maxx and Marshalls for earrings...but you could definitely do the same project on a smaller scale for earrings, as well!

    Marie - you are too funny. Martha I'm not. And Wylie was so cute, wanting to be right next to me. I kept waiting for him to walk all over my project, but he's pretty careful, thank goodness!

    EB- great idea with the wallpaper! You must have some beautifully lined drawers!

    Kelly - thanks...curious what idea of yours this has sparked! be sure to share!

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  12. I know I'm a little far behind in commenting on your post, but WOW! It's like you knew exactly what I needed to do. I'm even worse off and now have my jewelry stuffed in a drawer and I'm not even wearing half of it b/c i don't want to deal with opening the drawer...it's bad! This is so cute! Great job and I see that awesome green dresser peaking out ;) LOVE Kelly

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  13. Kelly - I can relate! before I had that jewelry box I had everything in ziploc bags in photo boxes. not exactly accessible. good luck! hope this was inspiring. :)

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“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” - Bertrand Russell