Happy New Year everyone! Let’s hope this an even better year for fun, learning and adventure!
Let’s get to it!
Recently, I got fed up with trying to cram all my bracelets into my jewelry box. It just wasn’t working! As a crazy old lady, I feel that it’s my time to shamelessly strut my stuff and accessories are one way to do it! I’m biggest on earrings, bracelets and necklaces. I have a lovely little earring holder that I bought a few years ago. I hang my necklaces on the wall with pushpins and there’s my jewelry box for everything else.
Just so you know, I go to secondhand stores for my bling. I have no budget for retail except on deep discount. No, I find my best pieces in the secondhand store and it’s worth it. Fun!
I looked around in the stores for something to hold my bracelets but, alas, nothing appealed to me, and besides, the price was too high. Then the other day I was in the wood pile getting some kindling and I had a brilliant idea for how to make my bracelet holder!
Tools needed:
A power drill. Every girl needs a power drill, right? And the knowledge for how to use it.
A nice piece of smooth, dry kindling. About 6 to 8 inches long and 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Eucalyptus works for me, but any interesting wood will do. Remove the bark.
One wood screw. One that is long enough to go all the way through the base and into your piece of kindling about a half inch.
One square of pine lumber. I used 1-by-4. The base needs to be big enough so the stack won’t fall over when loaded with bracelets. I get my lumber from a local building site. I ask permission to dig around in their debris pile for untreated lumber. They have to haul it to the dump anyway so they’re happy to let me do it. Oh, and while you’re there, pick up a few small pieces to chop up for kindling if you have a wood stove! NO treated wood. The fumes are toxic!
Optional:
Hand sander or sand paper. If your pine base is rough you will need something to sand it with. Medium sandpaper works.
Clear polyurethane. A little polyurethane gives it sheen and brings out the wood grain.
This is what we’re going for. There’s no need for glue. It’s lightweight and we’re not loading it with heavy objects. Notice that I placed the thickest part of the forked wood a little off center. This was to make the “load-bearing” part of the wood centered over the middle of the base, which makes it more stable.
This is the wood screw in place and countersunk so it doesn’t interfere when the base is set on the dresser. The base sits completely flat this way. When I drilled the pilot hole for the screw to go in (so as not to risk splitting the base or the top part) I drilled all the way through the base and into the top part. This might be a two person job unless you have a vise to hold everything in. A pilot hole is a small drill hole. Sometimes when you don’t make a pilot hole the wood will split.
I sanded the edges of the base and also ran the sander over the wood top as well just to smooth it so I wouldn’t be getting any splinters in my widdle fingers!
I brushed on one coat of polyurethane and let it dry thoroughly. I didn’t want it real shiny. I like natural things. The polyurethane did enhance the wood grain which is a nice look. Here’s how it looks loaded with bracelets.
I’m so happy. I hope you will be, too!
