Sunday, September 4, 2011

Jewlery Holder: What I learned

In my first Top 5 post I mentioned finishing my new necklace/jewelery rack. I had previously crafted a rack out of a frame and some eye hooks, and to be honest I outgrew it. So, when I came across the inspiration post I knew I was in. It didn't take me long to find this rack at a local antique "mall" for only $5!
For what it is, it was in good shape and had those 3 pegs at the bottom to hang mugs(?) from. But I knew those wouldn't be enough for my growing collection of neck lovelies. And I wanted to make sure I had some shelf space for bracelets, earrings and the like. So I popped those bad boys out and decided to turn it around.

Using wood putty I filled the holes from the pegs and a few little divots from nails and scratches so that I could get a nice even coat of paint over the whole thing. After letting it dry, I sanded over the entire piece.

I still have plenty of marshmallow white paint left, so using a small foam brush I began the process of painting. It took a couple of coats.

Some of those coats were a bit thick, and dripped so I sanded the back after it was dry.

I then started the process of screwing in a couple dozen hooks into the bottom and inside the top of the two longer sections.
I added some picture hangers on the back, and it was almost ready to go.


I put it up on the wall, but I didn't really like seeing the painted wall through the holder, so I added some scrapbook paper to the back of the frame. I liked the contrast of the dark purple against the lilac paint on the walls.


I hung up my necklaces and put away my bracelets and here's what she looks like now!
What I learned
1. I went a little crazy with the wood putty. It said over fill the spots, and I definitely did that. You can still see some "lumpy" parts where I didn't sand enough.
2. Paint the inside first! I didn't do that on the first coat, and it was hard for me to find a good position for my hand/brush when I went to do the more difficult inside.
3. The paint I used was interior wall paint. Not exactly the best paint for this job. Craft paint would have been much better. Maybe even spray paint. I've never used spray paint, and I think I'd like to give it a go on a future project.
4. I really love my necklaces.

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