i'm no girlie girl. in fact, i've never really been into accessorizing all that much, unless you count wearing my spiked bracelet in high school and accessory! recently though, i've been taking a cue from my stylish sister-in-law and have ventured out into this new territory of trying to look at least a little bit put together. enter my most recent project . . .
i came across this giant frame at my local thrift shop in ocoee, florida. seriously, if you can get past the feeling that bugs are jumping onto you as you pass by the clothes in this store, you just might find a gem or two in the mix. anyway, here she is . . . er . . . was!
when i walked into the store last week, she was sitting there, having just been dropped off. not even priced yet, i knew she just had to be mine. i couldn't believe it when the lady behind the counter said i could pay just 5 bucks for her!
i wasn't quite sure what she would become, or even how to explain to my husband that i needed to find a place to store this huge, plastic, gold monstrosity. my brain was working overtime thinking of the possibilities. finally, i settled on the idea of a jewelry holder for my growing collection. i also knew that it was going to take some time and a little bit of money for this lady to shine. so here is exactly what i did . . .
i first had to choose a paint color and fabric design. since my walls are gray and a few accent pieces in the room are yellow, i needed to find a color that would complement and not compete. i searched online and found a website with beautiful palettes for inspiration. i decided on the dark blue (almost black) color for the frame. for the fabric, i'd been dying to make something out of a zig zag chevron print, and this was my chance! the only drawback was that i had to order it online, which postponed finishing my project, but it was absolutely worth it in the end.
now that the colors were decided i had to finish assembling my other materials. first, i measured the interior of the frame. lucky for me, it was exactly 2' by 4', which happened to be the perfect size of pre-cut luan at home depot. not having to cut and sand always makes me happy!
then, i set out to find cork to cover the wood and adhesive to stick it all together. i found 12" cork tiles at joann fabrics which would fit the wood nicely. oh, and i used coupons on each item so i saved even more money. hoot!
finally, it was go time. first, i sprayed primer on the frame and while it was drying, i started adhering the cork to the wood.
after letting the adhesive thoroughly dry, i covered the board with fabric. i had my new staple gun to use (my Christmas present from my husband) and i couldn't wait to see how the fabric would look. i should have painted the board white first before covering it. i quickly realized that you could see the brown cork through the fabric, so i ended up taking it apart and painting it anyway.
finally, after painting the frame with two coats of high gloss, i was ready to put it all together! i had to jerry-rig the frame to hold the board in place. i found these little metal pieces at home depot, which worked perfectly and really made it secure.
after hanging it, and arranging my jewelry on the push pins, i was finally finished!! overall, it was a fairly easy project and looks amazing in my bedroom. now if i can just figure out which piece goes with which outfit . . .
Project Cost Breakdown . . .
frame = $5
luan = $6
2 packs of cork tiles = $7
adhesive = $5
fabric = $13 (includes shipping cost)
primer = $0 (leftover from another project)
paint = $13 (a little steep, but i intend to use the rest on other projects)
clear push pins = $1.50
Grand Total = $50.50 (by far my most expensive project, but so functional and oh so pretty!)
