Organize your earrings, necklace, and rings with a DIY jewelry organizer made from a thrift store frame and a piece of leftover fabric. Discover how to make a wall-mounted jewelry holder that’s both functional and pretty.
I’ve been on a thrift store scavenger hunt recently, and the last one was particularly successful. I found an old, beat-up empty wooden frame with a nice simple floral design in the corners that was just waiting for a new purpose in life. I decided that this old picture frame would be perfect to help me fix a disorganized and tangled-up mess and install some order back into my life.
Since the vintage frame was so pretty I thought it would look nice in my dressing area and pretty that up a bit with some wall decor.
So I set out to make a jewelry organizer for all my necklaces, rings, and bracelets, and if there would be a place for my brooches too, that would be great. I didn’t have much time so I needed to come up with an easy and quick way to turn my thrift store find into a picture frame jewelry holder.
Enter my burlap coffee sack. I have a little stash of this, due to a recent bold and bodacious action of mine. I am such a wimp most of the time, but this time I got my courage up. I was in a specialty coffee shop the other day. You know the ones, where the walls are lined with different coffee beans, where they grind your coffee to your specific instructions, and where they talk about coffee as if it is the finest of wines. The kind of coffee shop that intimidates me, because I am not a big coffee drinker. But my friends and family are and I was in there to buy a whole bunch of gifts for the coffee lovers in my life. As the shop owner tallied up my order (it was a big one) I started a conversation and carefully inserted the topic of coffee beans and coffee bean bags. And then ever so nonchalantly asked if he had any. One look at the till and my big order, and he walked to the back of the store and came back with at least 10 coffee bags!!!!
And that is how I ended up with a nice stash of authentic burlap coffee bags.
Burlap Craft projects you will like.
Okay then, back to the jewelry holder and my latest DIY project.
Supplies for making a framed jewelry holder
This homemade jewelry organizer is easy to put together and you only need a few supplies, that can easily be found in your local hardware store.
- A frame, this can be an old thrift store frame. Rectangular works best, especially if you want to hang long knecklaces
- Backing for the frame. If the frame has a back you can repurpose that, otherwise cut some stiff piece of cardboard or thin plywood to size
- Fabric, burlap or contact paper to cover the back. Use what you have and that fits your design style
- Optional is chicken wire, this can be a nice addition in front of the fabric and makes hanging dangling earrings super easy
- Basic tools, like a drill, hammer, screwdriver, nails and screws and scissors
- Small hooks like cup hooks
How to make a Jewelry Frame Organizer
Step 1 Prepare your frame
My frame was empty, so I first needed to find a backing for it. I measured the inside of the frame and cut a piece of leftover plywood to size and gave it a trial fit.
Next up was refinishing the frame. The frame was white, and I decided to stick with that. I gave her a quick refresh with a thin coat of fresh white paint. Because the frame is so old and already quite tattered I decided to go for the shabby-chic look and sand the edges a bit and apply a thin layer of dark glaze.
Step 2 Turn it into a burlap wall organizer
The next step was cutting my burlap to size. A burlap coffee sack has a very loose weave, so it can be hard to cut straight lines. To cut straight edges in burlap there is one easy trick: pull out a thread and follow the empty weave as the line to cut.
I did that four times and ended up with a nice piece of burlap to cover my piece of wood.
I discovered that if I simply folded the burlap around the plywood it had a very snug fit in the frame that basically didn’t need anything else. If I had been using ordinary fabric I would have used spray adhesive to glue the fabric to the front of the wood.
I opted not to hot glue the burlap to the wood because the loose weave of the burlap would be perfect for sticking in pins and earrings (you can get that effect by adding some wire mesh in front of your fabric).
The next step was predrilling some small holes and adding cup hooks for my necklaces and bracelets. These little hooks are perfect hangers for long necklaces.
Step 3 Finish the picture frame jewelry holder
Plywood is very thin, so even though I used small hooks, they still came sticking out at the back. I snipped off what was too long with some heavy-duty pliers.
To hang the frame I screwed two small screws into the back of the frame and twisted some metal wire across.
Because the burlap-covered wood was so snug in the frame I didn’t have to do much to hold it in place. For a little bit of extra security, I hammered some small nails into the frame just a bit and then hammered them into a hook to hold the backing in place. If your frame needs a bit more help to stay in place then using some staples and a staple gun would work very well for this.
Step 4 Organize your jewelry collection
Now comes the fun part. Get out your necklaces, bracelets, jewelry pins, and dangling earrings, and hang them on your DIY jewelry organizer. You can add some straight pins to the fabric too, to hang some more lightweight things like small bracelets.
Isn’t it wonderful to have a jewelry display like this? Everything in sight, easy to grab and it is functional storage at the same time. My jewelry holder is hanging right next to my closet. I love that I can match my accessories to my outfit in one go.
To finish off my little girly corner organizer, I hung a small shelf underneath the wall-mounted jewelry holder. It is the perfect place for a small mirror and some small dishes to hold my stud earrings and rings.
More easy DIY Organizing Ideas
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I am so happy! It was a great idea to finally find a designated spot for all my pretties and I love that I have a beautiful jewelry organizer that double functions as wall decor, and it kind of is a small vanity too. Using the old frame made this such a quick and easy DIY project.
It’s exciting to now have a place for all of my precious jewelry even if it all is just costume jewelry and homemade things. I love that I can enjoy looking at them and enjoying their beauty while they are ready to use at any time.
The whole thing from start to finish only took a couple of hours. I love small projects like this that help me organize a big mess, are fun to do, and add some beauty to my life.
Jessi says
I love your version! Love the burlap. I may have to try this. I like the whole little area you have to yourself there!
the dutch purple rabbit says
you did. now some time too make it.
nynke
cottage and vine says
Your variation is extra special with the addition of the burlap! What a nice little space that is now.
Tammy@InStitches says
I love yours especially for the shelf for the little earring holders, so cute !!
Samantha2818 says
I love this idea – your jewellery holder is lovely. I have been planning a similar shelf and mirror for a little corner of my bedroom that I can't do anything with and am so glad I've seen yours as it's just what I'm after!
~Sam
Victoria says
I have seen many variations of this but that's part of why it's such a fun thing to see! Everyone has their own little twist on it. Yours is gorgeous, I love the stamped letters!
Blondie's Journal says
I think your jewelry holder is a lovely and practical idea. I too, have the same problem with not having the time to untangle or deal with finding a matching pair of earrings…so this is a fabulous solution. What is behind the burlap to hold your pins in?
xoxo
Jane
Beth says
Love it! It's so much nicer to have your jewelry organized in a pretty little area than to have it in a big tangled mess. Looks great.
alice says
Now Miss Songbird ~~~ you are really chirping! That is adorable!
smiles, alice
::cottage instincts:: says
Loving it Marianne….I need to get on the ball with my jewelry. What did you line the back of the sack with? Was it just cardboard?
AuroraSuzette says
Love your take on this, and really love the letters on the burlap. So clever, especially those little dishes. Invading his space..funny.
Fluitenkruid says
Het contrast van jute achtige stof met die meisjesachtige dingen vind ik mooi.
groetjes Jannet
Miss Marple says
Nu ben ik ook geinspireed!!! Ik hoor mijn kettingkjes, armbandjes, oorbellen en ringen; *wijwillenookzomooihangen*
OK, weer een wens op mijn to do lijst!
Zonnige groetjes – Irma
Alisa says
Fabulous and functional! I love the burlap!
Mary Jane Chadbourne says
Oh, love this idea! You have given me inspiration to make something similar in my walk in closet!! Thanks for posting!
Bonjade says
Maar zo'n mooie heb ik nu nog nooit gezien……
Echt mooi zeg. Stoer en lief in één.
Fijne middag
Melissa says
This is one of those been done before that is worth doing for yourself – I know – I have plans to do one once, I figure out where I want to put it.
I love how you incorporated it and other details to make your own, girly space.
Cozy Little House says
Well, I don't wear jewelry. But I'm thinking up other uses for this little pretty. Can you imagine the dismay of women long ago who were forced to use burlap to make things? Seeing as it's all the rage now?
Brenda
Lori says
This turned out great. I really like it!
Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday. Please join me next week for another great party. Don’t forget to stop by and enter my giveaway. I’ll announce the winner at next weeks party!
Elly says
Zóóó, dit is stukken beter dan de plastik bakjes in m'n la waar ik alles maar in gooi! Het is weer een mooi diy projekt Marianne! Een beetje girly met een stoere touch!
Fijn weekend!!!!
Mamasooz says
Gosh you have a pretty blog! I sure like your projects and style!
Pieces of Dreams says
I really love this look and idea! During the summer, we have some crafty people who come and visit us at Cape Cod every year…And, every year we look for projects. This would definitely be a big hit.
Thanks for the inspiration, Karen