This Jewelry Display Stand may motivate you to dust off your old jewelry box and finally do something about those unused pieces of jewelry. And, I’m not saying that because of how darling this louvered door now showcases jewelry, and how the hand-painted embellishments add a little sweetness. I say that because of what the name “ReJeweled” is all about.
A dear friend of mine launched ~ReJeweled~ five and a half years ago as a ministry; taking donated broken pieces of jewelry and reworking them into something altogether different and beautiful. She gives much of it away to widows, single moms, and women who need their spirits lifted. “It’s beauty for ashes,” my friend Christina likes to say, “a reminder of how God takes our brokenness and redeems us.” So when she asked me if I could spruce up her louvered door that she uses to display her re-imagined jewelry, I was honored.
To be honest, there wasn’t much to be done. The louvered door was already a beautiful sage green with stylishly worn edges. But I did notice it only had two rings on the back for hanging, which isn’t very practical when you consider you can’t exactly hammer two nails into the walls at all the different craft shows and marketplaces where she showcases her work. Then there was the pegboard panel. It just wasn’t pretty, and that was my friend’s biggest complaint. Thankfully, it came off easily, and I used it to trace my pattern for a new, solid piece I cut from 5/8″ scrap wood.
The scrap wood had a smooth finish, perfect for painting. I decided to paint it black with chalkboard paint I already had. It took three coats of this paint, using a small roller, to get the coverage I wanted.
With the black chalkboard paint fully dried, I then decided to hand paint the ~ReJeweled~ logo, as well as a few flowers and scrolls to girly up this Jewelry Display Stand. I used regular craft paint and my smallest paint brushes for this. Please, pay no attention to my need for a manicure!
It was right about this time that I asked my husband for advice on how to make this display stand on it’s own. I figured it would need a couple of legs on hinges, but I wasn’t sure what kind or how best to go about it. My husband is one of those guys who can build anything, and I love learning from him. But in this case, he just went to the hardware store, came home, and before I knew it, he handed me this:
I apologize for not having any pictures of the process, but again, my husband put it together so fast, I wasn’t prepared. He used 3″x1″ scrap wood for the two legs and used what is called, “hobby hinge lift supports.” He even added a small chain from the back of the stand to the center support bar to prevent the legs from opening beyond a certain point. It’s structurally sound and better than anything I could have imagined. The only thing left for me to do was paint it to look like the legs on this Jewelry Display Stand had been there all along.
I was able to match the sage green pretty closely, only because I have more craft paints than I can count. Then, I took a damp sponge, put a few drops of brown paint on it, and wiped it over the new legs. It’s a color washing technique that gives it just a hint of uneven coloring, which makes for a more aged look.
Happy with the paint job, I moved on to adding the hooks for hanging necklaces. I used some tiny gold ones that you simply screw in place. I measured out exactly where I wanted them first, using a chalk to mark each spot.
I went to Hobby Lobby in search of some beautiful knobs I could also add to the stand, and was pleasantly surprised when I found some perfect ones in the clearance section. They were blingy and almost looked like jewelry. But, when I got them home, I felt like three knobs might be overkill, and I only used one.
For the purposes of this blog, I hung up some of my own necklaces on this Jewelry Display Stand to see how the finished project looks.
I love how the black backdrop really puts all the focus on the jewelry. But I can hardly wait to see it with ~ReJeweled~ pieces hanging, instead. My friend, Christina, has a way of bringing out beauty in anything. Here’s what she did with a broken watch and other odds & ends:
I’m telling you, no one can reimagine or repurpose like Christina! You’ll have to check out her other work by following ~ReJeweled~ on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ReJeweled/317196725022767
Or consider blessing someone else by sending your broken and unwanted jewelry to:
~ReJeweled~
P.O. Box 312
Litchfield Park, Arizona 85340
Thanks for checking out my blog. If you liked this DIY project, check out another one I did recently, taking an old book shelf and turning into a Craft Caddy: http://www.muralsbymarcy.com/craft-caddy/