Jewelry Board

Intro: Jewelry Board

Well, as you all know, women need shiny stuff. Lot's of it. Necklaces, bracelets, belts and so on.

Problem my girlfriend had was, where to keep all that? Most of it was stacked in drawers, always tangled and a living hell to find 'that purple one' or something. So, to make her life a bit easier i decided i had to make something to organise everything so it's easy to pick out the jewelry, matching the outfit.

In this instructable I wil explain the project i finished last christmas in the shed at -8C... (damn cold)

Here is the end result:

STEP 1: Design

So, first i needed to think of what and how exactly. I had a somewhat limited space. I wanted it to be as symmetrical as possible. She already had a nice mirror so i wanted to integrate that as well if possible. Now how to make a fully customizable board... Some necklaces are long, others are short... what else kind of jewelry women have?

The idea grew and i went to the hardware store. I found these M5 nuts. Also found some bolts which are perfect. That would be ideal! The thing is, the shaft is smooth and there is only M5 on the bottom part. This makes sure the stuff hanging from it will not damage. I used 50mm ones.

So, i bought lot's of these.
Note: If anyone will also create such a board, use M6. There are much more sizes of these bolts available in M6! This design error forced me to create some specials for the bracelets later on in the design.

A large wooden board. Try to keep in mind how big your car is... I had to have them cut off 5cm heheh

STEP 2: Create

Start drawing!
Measured the mirror, measured the remaining size of the board. Calculated the spaces in between the mounting points. At this point i decided to add also a power-extension and 2 nice spotlights.
Drew all necessary holes/cut-outs. Check twice :-) Drilled the holes and put in the nuts.
The second picture is taken at this point.

Now i needed to have the board a little bit thicker, to be able to house the electrical stuff and to be able to keep the mounting brackets out of view. See Pic 3 and 4. I used some spare bits and pieces and used moldable wood to even it out in between of the bits.

At the top i created a space to mount the bracket from which the entire board will hang. I had to bend the brackets a bit to make it easier to hang it on the wall and then screwed it all on.

STEP 3: Painting and Wiring

Next i put a base coat in white on the board. In hindsight it's not advisable to paint when it's freezing...

The paint was too thick at some points and so i had to sand quite a bit off again. I should have used a thinner haha. When it was all dry i put on structure paint.

When the paint was all dry, I put on the spotlights and added the outlets and switch. Unfortunately no pictures from the electrical installation part, but that's all pretty straight forward. If you have some experience in laying electrical wiring it's a piece of cake.

I drilled a few big holes in the wall and screwed in 2 sturdy hook-ankers to hang the board on.

STEP 4: Finishing Up...

When all electrical wiring was done, it was time to mount the board and surprise the girlfriend.
I put some of the bolts in a couple of the 'cram-nuts' . Turn a nut all the way onto the bolt and add a ring to prevent damage to the paint. When you tighten the bolt now it will be really sturdy!

Now for the bracelets... I thought there would also be longer bolts available to accomodate two bracelets on one bolt. Unfortunately not... So my advice is to use M6. My solution was to screw in wire-ends, slide a aluminium tube on top and then put a Nylock nut on it. Not as nice looking as the bolts, but it does the trick. (A few belts can also be hung there in stead of the bracelets)

So, time to surprise the girlfriend. The board is a big succes i might say. And ofcourse the envy of all girlfriends... :-)

Well, so far my first instructable. The only thing left to do, is create something for her earrings as well...
Hope you like it. Now go build one too! You might be in time for Valentine's Day haha

Comments

[jcandrews]

Nice concept, perfect for a teen. On the other end of the spectrum, being much older than a teen, I would NEVER put my jewelry on display such as this. I inherited quite a lot of jewelry and over the years of our marriage (40 of them to be precise, hubby has purchased many expensive pieces for me. We suffered through one break in at our home and had it not been for the jewelry being locked in the safe, I would have lost over $60K in jewelry. BUT, this board seems perfect for the teen girl (or boy) to keep their jewelry organized.

As for the earrings, what about those cute little clear small spice jars that adhere to magnetic strips. You would be able to see the earrings. You wouldn't want lots of earrings in one jar or you couldn't see all that was in the jar. Would also work for pins.... like initial, etc, that many girls seem to wear.

[mishajones1212]

I am in the process of making something like this. Another option might be screwing in cup hooks for smaller more delicate items? I am thinking about trying something magnetic like a knife strip for the stud earings? We'll see what happens:)

[bowser82]

Indeed, that's pretty good idea! You mean like bathroom-accesoire-cupholders?
And for the knifeholder magnetic strip, also might do the trick, except for the fact that not all jewelry is magnetic... But on the other hand, if your jewelry of choice is Stainless it would be grand :-)

[keglermom]

To solve the stud earring problem, you could mount the mesh on a strip of wood that would stand out about 1/2 inch or so from the back. It would be easy to reach behind and attach the backs.


    wood
| _\/__
|        {
|        {  < mesh
|
| <  back

[ArcticLiz]

haha loved it!! :D maybe trying, I'm in the exact same mess that your girlfriend used to be. Such a nice detail! :D

[bowser82]

Haha thanks! Well go for it girl! See if you yourself can create something like it, or maybe even better, get someone to do it for you ;-) You can go crazy with colours, shapes, 3D even if you'd stack wood in layers!

[ArcticLiz]

haha sounds nice! :D thanks for the inspiration!!

[Lindseyfay01]

Earrings.... I have a lot of jewelry as well, so this board is great. For my earrings I have a stretched painted canvas, that i bought fairly cheap, and i measured and poked holes evenly spaced. It works great, and also looks really interesting!

[inkstainedheart]

I was thinking of making something similar to this, but I didn't even think of adding lights and a mirror--nicely done! If you want a more polished look, a frame would be awesome. I'd like to make mine with antique drawer pulls and doorknobs to look extra girly

[rorrn]

Thanks for different ideas for the knobs!  Depression glass knobs would be just beautiful.  Now I'm gonna have a hard time choosing just one theme, darn it.  So many wonderful ideas, too little space, LOL.

[bowser82]

Thanks! A frame would indeed be cool. You could even paint the frame on, to spare hassle :-) Just be sure to share it all when done ;-)

[rorrn]

How Cool!  Nice easy display for a fledgling jewelry maker, jewelry and tools.  You guys come up with some really interesting and inexpensive ideas.  Thanks

[bowser82]

You're welcome! :-)

[kathleenli]

I don't know if you've found the solution for the earrings yet, but bolting a rectangular piece of fine wire mesh in one corner may work, depending on how many earrings she has. This works best for hoop or dangle earrings, not so great for studs b/c you have to put the backing on from behind the mesh, although it's probably flexible enough to lift if you don't bolt down the bottom corners. Nice instructable!

[cutekitten]

wow i would love that

[bowser82]

Well.... Try to get somebody to make it for you :-) Maybe as a birthday present? It's not a majorly huge project actually, it just takes some basic tools which should be available offcourse and a bit of time for the paint to dry. I'd love to see other versions!

[pinkkouw]

This looks really nice and a great idea. I think i will modify it so i can organise my kitchen supplies.

[bowser82]

Cool, share the result when you're finished :-) You could offcourse also use it as a toolboard...

[aster aisthesis]

Amazing! Thanx for sharing

[acboothby]

Wow. Very impressive! I need one just like this and with the new earing addition!! I love it. Thanks for sharing.