CD Spindle Earring Stand

A very simple project to take the leftover stuff from a stack of blank CDs and make a stand to hold earrings.

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Step 1: Find a suitable CD stack spindle

I had a stack of blank CDs stored on this spindle. There was also a plastic cover, but it's unfortunately gone to the landfill, as I couldn't figure out another use for it.
But the spindle that held the blank CDs was quite nice, and the little plastic top that held the whole thing together screwed on nicely.

Obviously this won't work with just any spindle without some ingenuity. Hopefully whatever you have lying around can be made to work.

kattynasco says: Apr 14, 2012. 6:06 PM

can you make one for bracelets too? i have a ton of them that dont fit on my jewelery stand. ive got to stop stashing up on jewelry, really, i do....
gotta have it though, its like a part of my life!

shazni in reply to kattynascoMar 15, 2013. 6:52 PM

try this
http://www.instructables.com/id/Bangle-organizer/
if you can't make the stand simply screw larger hooks to a board and make the sticks.

charlottechen says: Dec 25, 2011. 7:34 AM

I got one of them too from my DIYing Dad! In silver! A great idea and all my earrings fit :-)

a918bmxr says: Dec 9, 2011. 11:16 AM

here it is
double decker with spinning discs

a918bmxr says: Dec 9, 2011. 9:35 AM

just an idea...
make the cds spin for easier access with two or more layers...
i am going to give this a try

ArcticLiz says: Jul 25, 2010. 9:11 PM

Wow! :D definetly trying! :D

Teensy Doodles says: Apr 7, 2010. 6:13 PM

Nice idea! I'll make this and add the cover so that the earrings won't get dusty. 5 stars~

diablo11 says: Aug 17, 2009. 1:06 PM

Great idea, I am a woodturner and turn these. An idea is get a bigger spindle and mount two cd's about 2 or 3 inches apart and it will hold twice as many earrings.

Sasza says: Jul 6, 2009. 12:53 PM

I bet you could probably and another row of holes for extra "storage space." I'm definitely going to try this out.

Short One says: May 3, 2009. 7:58 PM

Cool. This gave me some idea's for my friends with pierced ears!

stephenniall says: May 3, 2009. 5:44 PM

hmm bet you could make a bigger version with a motor for ties or something

Karumi says: Mar 27, 2008. 7:43 PM

I made one using your inspiration, and kinda made it my own. Have a look~
Thank you for the inspiration though!

Click here!

matbh in reply to KarumiMar 12, 2009. 7:04 PM

nice fender detail...

sabbott (author) in reply to KarumiMar 28, 2008. 5:10 AM

Interesting -- I see you painted the stand silver, and used a guitar pick and screw to handle the mounting to the base. I see you have a "do not reproduce" copyright on your picture -- wow...

matbh says: Mar 12, 2009. 7:02 PM

maybe u can use the cover of the cd tube to avoid dust.... or if u have long earrings u can use a 100 cd tube!!! humm!!! great ideia

AznPanda says: Oct 25, 2008. 9:41 PM

LoLZ Sexy Earings :D nice stand ;D

yokotei says: Apr 30, 2008. 3:47 PM

this is a terrific project. my mom makes jewelry in her spare time, and was selling it at a flea market this past weekend. i made her a couple of these, and they caught a lot of attention. i didn't have half the supplies, or the little plastic thing that would go on top of the attached disc. i had to substitute hot glue for epoxy and my sister's eyelet puncher for a drill T_T

cowscankill in reply to yokoteiOct 24, 2008. 1:16 PM

Whoa! My friend's mom makes jewelry and sells it on Ebay. One day, she wanted to go to a flea market, so I spent the night and went with him. She made more than a hundred bucks, suprising not only me and my friend, but his mom as well.

salvadorkatz says: Oct 8, 2008. 10:03 PM

very neat...thankx for sharing...i'll try this later...

caligirl says: Apr 13, 2008. 4:06 PM

I just finished my ear ring holder and it works great. It holds 18 pairs of wire ear rings. I also decorated it a bit by using a butterfly lapel pin that the back was broken off of. Made a nice top cover.

MjPadfoot says: Jan 4, 2008. 2:26 AM

i love this! i have so many earrings and they're all jumbled up. this way, at least i'll know what i have. i wonder if u can do the same thing but with a longer spindle thingy and some hooks in the holes to use as a necklace holder...

sabbott (author) in reply to MjPadfootJan 4, 2008. 7:44 AM

Yup, me too. I think I actually need a second one. [chuckle] I've been wondering about the necklace idea also. Haven't actually tried it yet, but am scrounging stuff that might work. Hooks in the holes is a good idea. That was one of the parts I was stumped on, but now that you say it, it seems obvious. Just some little cheap s-hooks from the hardware store would work.

MjPadfoot in reply to sabbottJan 5, 2008. 9:40 AM

glad to have been of help! but ur still the creator of this marvelous idea. one question though...doesn't the cd break when u try to drill the holes? cheers! Mojo

sabbott (author) in reply to MjPadfootMar 28, 2008. 5:05 AM

If you put the CD on a wooden surface, and use a good drill bit (i.e. sharp, designed for hard materials) and clamp the CD down, it doesn't seem to be a problem. I think I used a bit that is good for soft metals, not a bit designed for wood. I've since built a second one and it was not a problem drilling. what have others found?

hethlee says: Aug 26, 2007. 12:39 PM

Great Idea! I love it. I made an earring holder out of a grease splatter but this is wonderful!

Lithium Rain in reply to hethleeMar 11, 2008. 7:56 AM

How did you make an earring holder out of a splatter of grease? Sculpt it?

hethlee in reply to Lithium RainMar 11, 2008. 12:03 PM

Check out my project. You will see how I flipped the handle of a grease splatter back to create a great and easy to use earring holder.

Lithium Rain in reply to hethleeMar 11, 2008. 4:47 PM

I will, but I was kidding. A play on the word "splatter". It could mean a lump of grease that pops out at you and then congeals on the counter. Or a useful kitchen aid. :)

Mingo says: Nov 23, 2007. 2:03 PM

i'm going to make one too, but it would be much more 'stylish' if you painted the base so it didn't look like platic. i'm thinking of black enamel.

Patented says: Nov 2, 2007. 6:18 PM

thanks you!il do this for my sister

DELETED_outdoorsman2014 says: Oct 23, 2007. 4:54 PM

(removed by author or community request)

sabbott (author) in reply to DELETED_outdoorsman2014Oct 30, 2007. 1:54 PM

interesting. I had a look at it, the base is a good idea. I'd love to find more ways to use these things.

sabbott (author) says: Sep 28, 2007. 2:30 PM

Thanks for the feedback, it's great to hear that others have tried this out and had success with it. I'm trying to figure out more things to do with old CDs and similar electronic media once they are history.

runez says: Sep 28, 2007. 12:16 PM

made one out of the old dvd-r's i had around. realised that when drilling dvds they tend to delaminate, sometimes this means the shiny material breaks off unevenly.. had to try it on a few dvds before it worked out. anyways, this is a great idea! thanks!

CrimsonFlash says: Sep 10, 2007. 8:38 AM

This is a great idea. I made one for a friend of mine who has lot's of earrings. I even found a CD with a purple bottom, and put that facing up, since her favroute colour is purple. I hope she likes it. *crosses fingers* (The picture is bad quality, but it gets the point across.)

sabbott (author) in reply to CrimsonFlashSep 10, 2007. 10:07 AM

Fantastic! It's great to see another one. Not all CD spindles ill work for this -- so I'm happy to see at least one other person has been able to make this work. Thanks so much for uploading the image!