Welcome to my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I believe that everyone can have a beautiful home without spending a fortune! One of my favorite things to do is find creative ways to re-purpose things I already have on hand, or have picked up at yard sales and thrift stores. Join me as I share with you some of my favorite ideas for crafting and decorating, as well as travel adventures, and fun things that I pick up on my treasure hunts! Much of my work is influenced by my love all things French, nature, and of course shabby chic! I have gotten so many creative ideas from you very talented bloggers out there, and I hope that I can be an inspiration to you as well!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

An Old Clock Becomes a Jewelry Organizer




 My very first blog entry!  I am excited about the possibilities!  After becoming addicted to blogs over the past year, I kept thinking in the back of my mind "I should do this!".  I have been so inspired and awed by all of the wonderfully talented bloggers out there.  Of course I thought that blogging would be too difficult for me to learn, and feared that I would be the only one reading my posts!  Well, time to take a deep breath and dive right in!  A very special thanks to my sister for showing me the ropes and getting me started.  So please bear with me as I learn the art of blogging!  Hopefully I can be an inspiration to some of you out there..........

An old clock becomes a jewelry organizer!

My mom gave me an old clock that hadn't worked in years, as she thought that I would want to use it for one of my projects (it wasn't valuable or sentimental). Well, the wheel started churning......At first I thought that I would turn it into a curio cabinet, but then I realized that it would be the perfect place to store my jewelry! I had been stashing my jewelry in a bunch of boxes, and they re a jumbled mess! It was so hard to find anything, and I don't know how many times I gave up in frustration trying to untangle my necklaces!

I wish that I had "during" pictures of my project, but I began working on it this past winter, long before I started thinking about a blog. Anyway, I first removed all of the clock parts, which I saved for future crafting projects (any ideas on what to do with them??). Like my mom, I have a hard time tossing anything away if I think it has "potential". After removing the parts, I then sanded inside and out, primed, then painted it a nice creamy color. I distresses it a bit, and followed with some burnt umber craft paint. I found some really pretty wooden appliques at Hobby Lobby, and I epoxied them to the top and bottom, then I added a repurposed knob from my craft supply stash. I adore toile, especially blue and white, so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into this piece. I just so happened to have some beautiful toile that I got in Hawaii several years ago. (I know, I don't think of toile when I think of Hawaii!). It is bark cloth, so it has a wonderful texture. I cut a plain ol' piece of cardboard to fit the inside (actually I cut two pieces), and covered it in the toile, using my trusty old hot glue gun. I picked up some pretty blue trim to dress the edges up a bit, using more hot glue. I added a bunch of little cup hooks to the inside, so now my necklaces and bracelets can hang tangle free! I am thrilled with the result, and love using it!

One of the best parts of this project is that it hardly cost me a thing! I already had the paint & fabric, just needed to by the wooden appliques, trim & cup hooks! It looks so pretty hanging in our bedroom. Some day I will show you our bedroom, that I have decorated in blue & white toile.

I am linking up to Metamorphosis Monday, at Between Naps on the Porch.
and  Funky Junk Interiors
 and Trash to Treasure Tuesday

8 comments:

Karen said...

Great idea! Its so wonderful when "things" can be re-purposed into such creative useful accessories. Bet it looks good in your room!

Have fun creating!

Hugs, Karen

Needled Mom said...

Wow! It looks great and I love the idea for it's use.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

This is really pretty, Donna! Great idea to make it a jewelry holder. Love the color, the toile fabric and the embellishments.

Welcome to the world of blogging! : )

Alyssa said...

Great job!
Looks so cute.

Alyssa
Lifeoflyssie.com

PS: Good luck with your blog!

Michelle@ A Full Cottage said...

This is so cool! I love the fabric that you chose, now I am going to be on the lookout for a clock!

:) Michelle

Ginger said...

What a wonderful idea & i love your blog great job on it!
hugs

junkermidge said...

Very, very clever! You did a great job with it!
Midge

summerland cottage said...

Hi Donna,
Of course I had to pop over and say hello.
This has been pure pleasure visiting your blog !
We obviously have lots of likes in common.
Is that a little cessna your hubby flies ?
You look like a fun couple,
if you are ever out my way I'd love to connect !
Thanks for stopping by and leaving the sweet comment,
happy holiday !