Jewelry Organizer Tutorial

I just like a bird I can't resist 'shiny stuff'.  All that glitters isn't gold though... it's usually gold or silver plated or just good old fashioned plastic beads.  Whatever the material I just like it.

I suppose I'm becoming a collector... or an addict possibly since dear husband said to me the other day "Why do you need all this stuff?  You never wear any of it."  Well... I wear it to church sometimes and I always wear earrings (unless I'm sick in bed dying) and there are always those expensive trips to Walmart ya know...  Yep, that's pretty much it... I NEED it to go to Walmart.  I refuse to become one of the "People of Walmart" wearing my pj's or waaaay too small underwear while forgetting my pants but remembering my fuzzy slippers, and a wife-beater shirt.  Yep I NEED all this stuff to avoid a paparazzi!!!  BTW have you seen the "People of Walmart"????  www.peopleofwalmart.com  (be forwarned, it's NOT pretty, but it's great for hours of entertainment!)

To make a long story short I have a growing collection that is getting harder to store or at least find what I'm looking for.  Since I'm borderline OCD... okay, I admit it... Queen of OCD, I NEED to have all my stuff in order.  I NEED other peoples stuff to be in order too but that's for another post.

 I had one of those cutesy little hanging organizers with all the clear little pockets for all my baubles but my collection 'outgrew' it and I just needed to do something else.  Necessity is the mother of invention and this evil genius has a plan....

Of course it must be inexpensive AND beautiful... can't have no ugly stuff to hang all my pretty stuff on, and since I have NO money, I'll use up some odds and ends I have on hand.

I used a piece of pine board it's about a 1"x4"  This one was about 7 feet long so it needed to be cut smaller to fit in my closet when it was completed.  I used a 20" long section for this project.
Dear husband always wants to 'help', so I let him cut the board for me.  He cut a total of 3 for me because I have big plans :) (you can make yours longer or shorter)

To make it pretty I decided to decoupage (Mod Podge) some scrapbook paper to the board before getting started on the functional stuff.

 After the sticky stuff was dry and my board was now beautiful  I also needed to gather a few tools and lots of little bits of hardware - a hammer, awl, needle nose pliers, a ruler (or tape measure), some picture hanging supplies, eye screws and cup hooks

 Then I got out my handy-dandy ruler and measured so I could space the hangers on the back and all my hooks evenly

I made two rows with the eye hooks and staggered them - I will be hanging earrings on these.

I then did the same along the bottom edge with all the little cup hooks.  My necklaces will hang on these.  By the way... my fingers got pretty sore twisting all those little hooks in.  I had to take a few breaks and also used the pliers some of the time.

Next I put some hangers into the wall in my closet and hung it up...

And I went from this tangled mess....

To this organized beauty!

 This cost about $4 for all the little eye hooks and cup hooks when all was said and done but it was so much cheaper than buying something ready made, practical and workable for my particular needs.  I've used this for a few months now and wanted to let you know it is working very well for me... I've also filled it up now and thinking about doing another one. I'm pleased with the results and happy with the functionality.

It's Complicated

My life is somewhat simple, but… it is also complicated.  Let’s just say “I have experience” in general. I’m 51 years old…. yeah, I know.  I don’t believe it either.  But here I am… 51, like it or not.  I don’t feel 51, but the numbers do not lie.  Acceptance is a hard pill to swallow.  Here we are… a new decade in my life and new adventures.  This blog is one of those new adventures for me.  Although I’ve dabbled with blogging a little in the past, it’s only been that… dabbling.  I’m a “grown-up” now, so it’s time for me to be more serious about this.  With all of these years behind me I’m sure somewhere along the way I’ve learned a thing or two worth sharing, and since I’m not dead yet I’m still learning stuff that is probably worth sharing too.

I grew up in rural Michigan… the farmland part not the woodsy part although I’ve spent time in both.  My Mom (bless her) pretty much raised my brother and I on her own 5 days a week anyway, and my Dad (truck driver) was home on the weekends.  They shared 1 car between them and we lived 2 miles from the closest neighbor who had children our ages.  How my mother survived being away from civilization with two uncivilized children is beyond me , but she is saintly like that… and resourceful.  A lot of that has rubbed off on me.  I raised three boys pretty much on my own for their early years… I can proudly say they are all respectable adults, they still have all their limbs and digits… somehow we all survived.  so… yeah, I have some skills… or at least some insights and wisdom to share that someone, somewhere might find helpful in some small way.  I hope this blog can express that.

In 1998 I found myself in some self-inflicted unpleasant circumstances and I transplanted myself to Alabama.  Can anyone say culture shock?  It was quite a transition but that being said, you couldn’t drag me back to Michigan to live.  This is where it’s at.  In the South Baby!!!  People don’t say “You aren’t from around here are you?” to me any more.  I’ve assimilated well and talk with the same twang that the locals do.  Sure, I’ve still got a little different terminology, but my twang has it all covered now days and most folks can’t tell I wasn’t born here.  It’s good to be home.  ROLL TIDE!

My husband and I just celebrated 15 years together.  We are a blended family.  Between us we have 5 children (4 living) ranging from 25-40years old, and 9 grandchildren ranging from 2-18 years old.  Our children are spread across three different states.  It’s been quite interesting since my husband raised girls and I raised boys up until we blended this little family.  He got to experience first hand how different boys are as my youngest was 10 when we got married.  All I can say is God knew what he was doing by giving me boys… I could have never raised girls (hmmm…this sounds like a possible future blog post).  Things haven’t always been smooth sailing and we’ve had some challenges along the way, but we’re good,  God has blessed us and we are still together.

Not too long ago, one of my adult children moved back home… with a two year old.  Apparently the good Lord felt I missed a few lessons on parenthood so he blessed me with this little one for my “refresher course”.  It’s all good though.  We have a lot of fun and I find I have a lot more patience for grandchildren than I had for my own.  After all, aren’t grandchildren the reward for not killing your own?  We have a good time, but it’s not always easy.  In many ways I’ve been thrust back into those years of dealing with diapers, spills, stepping on toys in the middle of the night and all the other things that go with having little ones  (Thank goodness he’s still too little for Legos!).  His Papa and I are adjusting.  It’s great!

So all this being said I want this to be a blog other women can relate to no matter what season of life they find themselves in.  I’d like to throw in some homemaking skills, recipes, family relationships, holiday ideas and whatever else might get slung out of my brain and heart.  I hope you find the time you spend here helpful, fun and somewhere you’d like to share with your friends and visit again soon.