Thursday, August 2, 2012

I R Productive.

So today, I found the time between getting up at noon, going to Walmart at 3, and going to work at 5:30 to wash my work clothes(Previously splattered on with Ketchup), spend time on the internet, dinking around, doing nothing, really, and starting on my latest DIY.

MmHmm. A DIY. And this time I took pictures.

I found this wonderful DIY/Repurpose post on Pinterest about six months ago(on one of my 2 am attempts to procrastinate on my Spanish homework-no doubt) and have been looking for the materials to do this since then.

Until Tuesday, I hadn't had any luck, whatsoever. But, on Tuesday afternoon, my mom took me to a super stinking small garage sale/estate sale where everything was grouped in boxes for $5.00 a box, and nothing interesting was really IN said boxes that would have any use to anyone, whatsoever. BUT I found this beautiful thing, and instantly fell in love.
No, Not the picture. Gosh, no. Though it is pretty, I don't need another stinking picture, unless it has to do with dance. No. I fell in love with the frame. And although it's about 4.5 ft by 2.5 feet, I know it's going to be a definite investment. This thing is going to be one Kick-A Jewelry frame.

Check the price on this bad boy:
And if you can't see very well, it says $1.00. Yep. Uno. One. I bought this HUGE, beautiful (slightly heavy) frame for $1.00 at a garage sale. I think I did pretty well for myself.

So, because I didn't want the whole thing for the picture, I took off the paper backing...







...Kept the label that says "October Morn," because I figure I can get creative with the backside, white paint, and clear nail polish... and I can use the pre-poked holes for some hooks...

...Pressed down the staples holding the picture inside the frame(Why not keep them? They could be useful for something later on!), and pulled the picture carefully out of its previous home.

Wow, that last bit made me sound a teensy bit cruel.

I have GREAT plans for this frame. And I still have some rocketing around in my head that haven't quite been made a possibility, YET, but for now, let's just start with what I've got so far.

Unfortunately, I ended up putting myself back a bit on the price range. But I think that I made up for a total amount cost when you factor in that the huge frame was ONLY $1.

However, when I went to WalMart today, I had in mind to get a bunch of lace to do the string-across thing in the first picture. But I couldn't find any lace on sale that I liked. I even asked the lady(who was a little out of it... I think she was a bit tired) if there was any lace anywhere else, and she said no. Then she disappeared for about 5 minutes. It was a strange moment...Guess you had to be there.

Anyway, I wandered as I wondered "Is there any other way to put some kind of surface inside the pretty frame that would do the same thing as Lace might for my jewelry?" Lo and Behold, as I finished that thought, I also pondered "What if there's a whole SHEET of Lace...?!" and there, perched atop a shelf with others of its kind in about three different colors was a whole fabric roll of beautiful creme colored lace "Fabric." I froze for a moment, and stared as if I had found a blessing bathed in a heavenly spotlight... Then the light flickered, making me realize it was just a dying florescent bulb, and I was presently bumped back to reality.

I paid with a little bit of pain in my thrifty brain. I paid just under $8 a yard for this sheet of lace(and I got about 1.5 yards), altogether totaling a whopping $11.96 for it - but I justified my splurging purchase when I told myself that getting enough lace to do what this sheet was going to do would have costed SO much more than this. When I got home, I realized that if I placed it a certain way on the frame, I actually had twice as much as I needed, but that just means that I have more lace for another project, or extra lace if the half I apply now gets ruined.

So here's a little preview of my work so far:

While shopping, I wandered into the Hardware section and found some nifty little hooks that would allow me to hang all my necklaces on them, neatly and tangle-free. I bought a set of 50 dark silver hooks, even though the frame and colors match more with Gold. They were cheaper than the rest. 50 hooks for about $2.50, when the 8pc. sets were 97 cents. Now, I'm not good at math, but for the number of hooks that I wanted, the 50 pc set was a much better deal.

I did a little bit more splurging, however(which I probably shouldn't have done) and bought a 3 pc set because they were just so darned pretty. They are about the same gold as the frame, and they have this cute little leaf design on them. They're called "Mug hooks," but I can do whatever I want with them, and I want to make them Necklace hooks. So there. [insert stuck out tongue face]

After my excursion to Wally World with me mum, I returned home at about 3:40 with the muse and drive to start working on my awesome new project. Mother thought I was crazy as I explained to her how I thought it would be so cool to have some boards across the back where I could screw my hooks into, instead of damaging the frame too much to put all my necklaces in one place. She told me, though, that there was plenty of wood downstairs at the shop(she and my stepdad own a coffee shop in an awesome old building), and that I was welcome to anything there. So I went there and found some cool boards that I thought would disappear pretty well behind the lace and still serve as a place to sink my hooks into. (Did that sound funny to you? Sink my hooks into? Hmm. Oh well.) The boards are similar to what you see in the picture above the hooks. The little tannish piece sitting next to the lace, inside the frame, on top of the ugly kitchen floor(We're going to get that replaced, someday... not that I'll be around, but it'll still be nice for my parents). My thought is that if I put one beam across the back of the frame and lace, long-ways, and then two other beams across the top and bottom of the middle beam(Oooh! I may just put them 1/4 of the distance across the top and 3/4 of the distance along the bottom... That would be interesting!) I'll have a nice sturdy place to screw the hooks in for all my necklaces. I was also thinking of using the old staples, still, and sticking old gold wire hangers in those and bending and twisting them so that they make some kind of vine design as yet another way to hang my necklaces. I'm liking that idea more and more, so my next assignment for tomorrow will be to find old wire hangers no one wants anymore. Probably just 3, but we'll see how it goes. I think I can still maneuver the back of the lace to allow for some hangers to slip in and stay secure.

Well, tonight, after work, I decided to get down to business. I didn't have enough hot glue to finish the whole project, nor the daylight to start hammering, since the old folks like their beauty sleep, and I'm - well, I'm a Night Owl - but I did get started on most of my project. I have the majority of the lace attached to the back of the frame, however.


Gently, I stretched the lace so that it was pulled across the back of the frame, evenly, and so it wouldn't sag terribly when my heavier earrings found a home there. And believe me when I say I have some heavy earrings.

I decided that it would be too much pull on the fabric if I just stretched it all out evenly across the frame, so I folded up about 1/2 an inch, just above where the board is going to be nailed, and then I continued gluing. This way, when the board is attached, I can take that fold and glue it to the top of the board. There will be a little seam, but the purpose of this is to start another platform for the bottom half of the fabric so it's not pulling on the top part of the fabric. That way, if I have a set of my heavy earrings on the bottom half of my lace, it's not going to pull and stretch the lace so bad as to where they would pull from the top region of the frame. (I hope you followed that...)

This is the last bit that I've done. I'll probably finish it, easy, tomorrow. All I have to do is play around with hangers, attach some boards, and find another stick of glue to glue the seam and the bottom line of fabric to the frame, since I got the top and sides already glued pretty well.

Notice the puckers on the sides. That will be where the seam is.

All in all, I think it's a pretty awesome idea. I'll be really happy if it turns out exactly how my mind pictures it! It's almost there, anyway!

Pip Pip for now!
XOX
-Jill


Ok here's the edit of the finished product. It actually took me all day to do the rest of the frame, and I decided that the seam in the middle was not going to work, so I decided to stretch what I had, instead of messing with the puckered edges. I think it gives it just a little bit of character. And so does all my jewelry! Though I'm actually not even close to being done putting my jewelry on, It's starting to look like it's going to be the best investment I ever made... Literally!
Doesn't it just look so darn pretty? I REALLY like the allover lace. I have about 30 hooks screwed in to the three boards behind the lace(and the blister to prove it), and now I feel like I'm doing an episode of "What's in my purse" as I showcase all(well, most) of my jewelry. 

I also realized, after I did the whole thing, that I didn't exactly have a place for all the earrings that don't HOOK. So, I fashioned a bow out of a side of lace I had trimmed off the back, and now have two tassel-like things just for the poky earrings. :)

Just a couple little tips... I suggest having longer wood nails, if you do a project extremely similar to this one. The joints between the two shorter boards and the longer one are actually held together with what glue I could muster out of my gun, since I didn't have long enough nails, but rest-assured, when I find some, They're getting secured.

Also, Do you know what happens when you put the wrong size glue into a glue gun(Smaller into Larger)? Well, have you ever had to wipe a childs' runny nose in the middle of winter? It's something like that, only back out the way it was pushed in, hotter, and stickier. Yeah, Not recommended. Furthermore, I've learned that it's not good for me to work on Projects before bed, paired with the fact that it's about 2am that I'm going to sleep, as well. I had a dream about this frame. Yes. A dream. And It was finished and had jewelry and stuff on it, too. I also had this ... vision... call it what you will... of this really handsome man's face(I think it may have resembled Henry Cavill, a little). And I couldn't help but think, "Wow. I can't wait to hang this in 'Our' house." Yeah. I had a dream about a dream guy, and furnishing my house with this... so I guess my subconscious is telling me that I better keep this for a long time. haha!

Well, till next time, Pip Pip!
XOX
-Jill

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