necklace hanger tutorial

for christmas, my sister gave me an adorable earring holder to hold my hook-backed jewels that i'm guilty of leaving to be forgotten in my jewelry box. unfortunately, i left it at my mom's house and had to wait for it to be shipped to me. it was a DIY project from a backless frame + hardware cloth. GENIUS, right?

[sister's christmas gift to me]

while i waited for the hanger to arrive, i decided i needed to figure out something to better manage my longer necklaces. i was inspired by this ballard design hooks + i figured it'd be the perfect use for some hooks i already had, and it'd be much cheaper than the $70-90 retail. OUCH!

i'd planned to stop by a local salvage place for some reclaimed trim, but they were closed. and i wanted to get my project on. i picked up a few pieces of lumber + trim and was on my way.

supplies:
trim [as decorative as you'd like] the length of your wall space; i used 2 pieces
1x6 the length of your wall space
wood glue
clamps
paint - base color, darker glaze, metallic finish
hooks
hanger


1. Apply thin bead of wood glue along bottom edge. Attach bottom trip to 1x6 and clamp. Let dry for at least 30 minutes.

2.  Run a squiggle [yes, it's a technical term] of wood glue along top edge of 1x6. Attach trim + clamp. Let dry for at least 30 minutes. [If you have enough clamps, you could theoretically do steps #1 + #2 simultaneously to cut down your drying time.]

3. With all trim attached to the 1x6, cut the board to desired length. I opted for a 45-degree angle. Sand rough edges until smooth.

4. Apply 2-3 coats of base color paint, being sure to cover all edges. I used Martha Stewart's Hosta matched to Glidden satin. [I bought a tester-sized bottle, and it was more than plenty.]

5. Once base color coats have dried, mix water with a dark brown acrylic for your glaze. I used Delta Ceramcoat Burnt Umber. Lightly brush onto the boards, highlighting knots + crevices as desired. Use a dry paper towel to lighten any spots. Continue to add glaze until you have the aged effect you desire.

6. Once the glaze has dried, use a dry brush apply metallic finish paint. I used Martha Stewart Thundercloud metallic. Add as many LIGHT coats of the metallic finish as you'd like. Be sure to let it dry between coats so you can see the actual glisten, as it appears much more metallic when wet.

7. Now that you've achieved the desired finish, attach your hooks.

8. Attach small hangers to the back of your boards and hang on the wall. The trim I used created a little ledge - perfect for my cuffs, bangles + brooches.

[the accessory center: smaller necklaces in the pouches, more delicate ones on the hooks]

bedroom before

here are a few pics of the ridiculous mess that was the master bedroom, pre-switch-a-roo. cricket's grandad is in the hospital, so i haven't taken the AFTER photos or put the finishing touches on the room yet. sorry...you'll have to wait for the update till we get back from visiting him. in the meantime, you can agree that it was a colossal wreck.

master bedroom switch-a-roo

hubs has agreed to a weekend switch-a-roo in our massive bedroom. not just agreed to it -- he woke up excited abut it!!! woo hoo!

you know how simply re-arranging furniture can give a space new life? I'm counting on it. we have some projects planned for our master bedroom this year, but we need to decide on a room layout first. thus the big flip-flop, tumble-jumble, thrifty-shifty.

check back this weekend for some before & after pics. of course, we may hate it and revert back to the original. I sure hope not because some of that furniture is heavy.

what area your weekend plans??? what room re-arrangements have made the biggest improvements in your home? did you have any that flopped? (I know I have.)

happy weekend!!!!

state of the art [part 2]

a while back, i designed some graphic art prints for our guest room. after framing them in ikea frames, i finally got them up on the wall. though i'm not quite ready to reveal the full room yet...you can let your imagination run.

[yep, the light switch is wearing a mustache + spectacles!]

you've seen the chevron rug i made.

now the art.

each state is a shout-out to family who'll likely be sleeping there the most.

california...

arkansas + texas...

ohio...

want the art? you can download it here for free.

full reveal coming soon...

juicy juice

i decided to give the new fancy juicer a try. i mean, it does look good on the pantry shelves, but this ain't no museum.

since we're pretty keen on the soda stream, i thought i'd prolong the life of some diminishing limes + lemons so we could flavor our own sparkling water in a natural way. have you seen what they charge for the flavored mixes? it's crazy. and full of sugar. no thanks.

i was proud of my little guy. and ya know what, a little mason jar fits PERFECTLY. go figure. thanks for this one, reid!

first up...limes.

then...lemons.

then...i rescued half an orange from the fridge for some fresh-squeezed juice for the chef. it was sooooo good.

i froze the juice in large ice cube trays. i didn't fill them up, just about 1/3 of the way since these are BIG cubes.

[there they sit, next to the basil butter i made this summer]

can't wait to try them in our next batch of sparkling water!

mmmm....MEAT!

Saturday was a much-anticipated day in our household. We joined a meat CSA and Saturday was the first delivery. We've been wanting to join a CSA for a while now, but it's been hard to find one that fit our schedule, eating preferences, and commitment level.

During the holidays, I day-tripped to Athens, GA for sis-in-law's tattoo, I snuck away for a bit to eat at Farm 255. There, I learned about their meat CSA offered through Moonshine Meats. And they deliver monthly to Decatur...just down the road from our house.

CSA stands for Community-Supported-Agriculture. Basically, you pay a monthly fee to receive a share of that month's crop/yield. The yield is likely the product of multiple small, local, organic operations. For us, the chance to get some amazing grass-fed local meat was a winner. We decided to go all-in for the first three months and subscribe to the big-daddy share. We figured this would give us the best experience with both the pork + beef products. If we learn that we prefer the pork vs the beef, we can scale back after the first quarter. We decided to split the first quarter subscription with my in-laws so we wouldn't have a freezer full of meat.

It was super-easy to sign up online. If you're looking for a CSA, try Farmigo's website to find either vegetables, meats, or mixed-share options near you. You can find out about seasonality, shares, and membership options or sign-up online.

Here's what we received in the first month's share:

• 2 pounds of ground pork sausage: one mild + one medium (we got to choose the hotness)
• 1 pound of ground pork
• 3 pounds of ground beef

• 2 ribeye steaks (look at those guys...even Lula was excited to see those bones!)

•  4 bone-in pork chops

plus...

• 1 top-round roast 
• 1 ham roast

We also added 2 pounds of bacon to the order. Yummmm...bacon.

The ham roast was the "off-cut" this month. Each month, they throw in a new "off-cut" to get you to try something new. If it's something unfamiliar, they send out a recipe the following week to help you figure out what to do with it.

Now it it'd only stop raining long enough to fire up the grill.

a fab juicy deal

This weekend I stumbled upon a steal-of-a-deal at a local consignment store. I went in there to purge my urge to shop while not spending a fortune. I don't think I've ever found anything at that particular store, so I figured it was safe.

That morning, Cricket said "I really want a juicer" so he could make custom flavored sparkling water with his new Soda Stream he got for Christmas. I rolled my eyes at spending money, adding another appliance no the kitchen, and trying to find a place to store another likely-to-be-rarely-used gadget.

So, when I stumbled upon this baby for just $20, I was delighted! I adored the compact size (minimal storage space-taker, liked the substantial weight (necessary for adequate pressure), saw the previous Crate & Barrel tag (originally $50), and LOVED that it saved me an eventual trip to Target (where I'd never escape with just a juicer). SOLD!

Then...what do I see in my inbox from Fab.com? One of this week's flash sales is for MetroKane...my juicer!



Who knew it was so fancy?? It sold out FAST.

Apparently, it's won design awards and is even in museums. Cool.

It's no museum shelf, but it still looks pretty in the pantry.

chippy door coat rack

i introduced you to my chippy door in november, remember her? she was $40 (which was a little more than i'd hoped to originally pay for an old door, but given the odd size constraints my project required, i succumbed, and she was worth it.) poor thing was sitting outside at Scott's Antique Market, wasting away growing character in the elements just waiting to find a home.

[door awaiting her new lease on life]

 well, her time has come for a second life.

our hallway is host to our electrical panel, which, as we all know is an eyesore. but you can't completely block the panel because you'll inevitably be fumbling around in the dark to flip the breakers. our house doesn't have much of a foyer, mudroom, or entryway. this leaves our guests without much place to hang their coats + purses during their visits.

no more...

after bringing home the oddly-shaped door (i wonder where it was originally used...it's too short for a real doorway), we let it air out on the patio for a few days until we were able to gently sandblast it to remove the loose paint. be gentle--the chippy paint is part of the charm. the cobwebs are not.

once dried out, we applied a few coats of polyurethane to the door to make sure the charming paint chips wouldn't transfer to any guest's coats or handbags. let it dry overnight.

attach the hooks (mine were from anthro, on sale for $5 each).

to attach the door to the wall, it needs to be easily removable yet sturdy to handle the weight of purses (ahem...anyone else relate to Chief Brenda Lee Johnson of the LAPD?). we used simple bolts screwed into the wall's studs. it was most important to find the studs, then we adjusted the hangers on the back of the door to match. we had to be sure to cover the electrical panel while keeping it evenly spaced between the adjacent door frames. the height should be comfortable for those who will hang items here (or if things need to be out of reach of pets or kids). you don't need it to protrude from the wall too far, maybe 1/4-1/2 inch?

once you've installed the bolts into the wall, measure the distance between them. transfer those measurements to the back of your door. attach the hangers into place.

hang the door. voila!

i may add a few knobs to the center section of the door to hang smaller items, but i haven't gotten to that yet. we're pretty happy with our solution, and it looks SO much better when you walk in the front door. it hangs directly across the hall from the hall closet, so this is a super functional place for those pieces we wear daily--especially this time of year.

yeah, a piece of art would've worked, but this is also incredibly functional. design + function = win.

project cost:
reclaimed door: $40
hooks: $5 x 3 = $15
poly: already had
bolts & hangers: $5

total: $60