DIY Jewelry Organizer

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  For today's post, I thought I would explain how to make a fun and very functional earring/jewelry organizer!  Do you have a hard time keeping all of your earrings paired and accessible?  Well, this project may be your solution!


This is my first "how-to" post so I hope I covered it fully, however, if there are any questions--please feel free to ask! :)


Here are some photos of the finished product before I explain "how-to"...

Fancy Faye's DIY Jewelry Organizer

You will need:

Shadow box--I found mine in the unfinished wood craft section of the craft store
Acrylic Paint
Sponge brushes
Wire Mesh
Scrapbook Paper and Spray Adhesive (Optional)
Hot Glue or E-6000
Hooks or Decorative Knobs (Optional)
Clear sealer (Optional)

Step by step:

    1)  Carefully and safely remove glass from shadow box.  I find using thick dish towels works nicely.

    2)  Remove any hardware from frame, before painting, if desired.

    3)   Paint shadow box.  Get creative!  Use multiple colors, create a design, or maybe try a crackle finish!  If you choose to do the crackle finish, follow the steps on Elmer’s website: http://www.elmers.com/diy/project/crackle-finish, however, replace wood glue with regular white school glue, as it turns out much better in my experiences.  

    4)  Once completely dry, spray entire shadow box with clear sealer.  Follow the directions on the bottle for best results.  If you like the matte look, skip the sealer.

    5)  Cut scrapbook paper to place in shadow box and glue in place (Optional).  I find that using a spray adhesive works best.  Again, get creative!  Try using photos, magazine clippings, post cards, Broadway Playbills...endless opportunities to make it individual and one-of-a-kind!

    6)    Cut out wire mesh to fit where glass was originally.  You can find wire mesh at the hardware store, however, you can use any material here you like.  Whatever you choose, just make sure it will be strong enough to hold your earrings.  I have used lace in the past and it worked great. 

    7)   Use hot glue/E-6000/Strong glue of your choosing to adhere wire mesh to frame.

    8)   Add cup hooks or decorative knobs to the frame for necklace organization (Optional).  I love using those gorgeous knobs from Anthropologie (which you can find on sale quite often)!

    9)   Put it all back together and hang it on your wall or set on your dresser, fill with jewelry, and Voila!   

    These jewelry organizers are fun and easy to make.  They make a perfect gift and are great for all ages because the design can easily be individualized! 

    Not into DIYing?  I have the two pictured for sale on my etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/FancyFaye.  

  Happy Crafting!

Friday Finds

I woke up anxious today to get out of the house and make my estate sale rounds in this most perfect weather.  Most estate sales in my area begin on Thursday and end on Saturday with deeper discounts each day after the first.  I will typically only go on the opening day if it is a very large sale with a lot of items that interest me.  I try to focus on vintage clothing, accessories, jewelry, and unique housewares.  Sometimes I stray from that plan...


Since today is Friday, most sales had 25% everything, and every little bit helps.  At two smaller sales I was able to snatch up a few great little finds, including:

4 lovely vintage scarves: 3 with designer signed silk fabric--

Olga Greco, Vera Neumann, and Pierre Balmain,

an adorable handmade vintage plush giraffe, 

a 1971 Scafa-Tornabene litho print of a gorgeous owl,

and a vintage eyeglass case with charming abstract floral print.

I'm quite pleased with today's finds and am excited to have them in my collection!  Happy Friday!  Have a great weekend!!!

Save the Date!!!

Are you in San Antonio or some place nearby?  If so, mark your calendar for February 11th for the Garage of Good at the Pearl Brewery!!!  I will be helping out at the show with my sister's business, Cutie Bow Tooty, and would love to see you there.  This show features local retailers "off-loading" merchandise at highly discounted prices in preparation for the upcoming season.  There are so many amazing local vendors with the most crazy awesome items at even crazier awesome prices!  It is a lot of fun to attend--and it's only 5 bucks to enter--which benefits a pre-selected local philanthropy!  Check out their website for all the details! Hope to see you there!!! 

New multicolored flowers available at the sale!

**Helpful Hint** Bring cash/check as some retailers aren't set up for credit cards.

New to Me

A few weekends back I had the pleasure of helping my wonderful aunt move into a fabulous new place.  This move was a bit of a downsize so a lot of organizing, selling, donating, and purging was in order.  Moves are usually very stressful times--and this one was no different--but with the help of tons of family and friends, it was pretty darn successful and fun!  See, my aunt and I have almost identical taste...and we are both "collectors"--so her house is full of treasures left and right.  Pair that with making awesome new friends and visiting with family, and you've got a pretty fun move going on.  


With the downsize, my aunt knew she couldn't bring all of her pretty things with her, so she decided that the best alternative was to generously pass some of them along to her family where she knew they'd continue to be loved and cherished.  How amazing is that?  


Well, I was one lucky recipient of her generosity and am so happy to have such pretty "new" things in my home.  I can't even list all of the new treasures I brought home but by far my two favorites are an original painting by my great grandmother and another great grandmother's fine china.  

This absolutely gorgeous painting was done by my grandmother's very talented step mother, Nona Ella (Harrison) Gibens.  To my aunt, she was just "Grandma Ella."  Grandma Ella was a ceramic teacher at a shop in San Antonio and was odiously very talented in other areas of art as well.  This is the first piece of real, original art that I've ever owned and I'm excited for it to be the centerpiece on my future art wall.  (I say future because it can't really be an art wall with one piece.) For now, it will be the focal point on a formerly bare wall in our great-room.  

When my husband and I got married, we decided not to register for Fine China.  I suppose it was because it's so very expensive and, at the time, we felt we had other needs for our home that were of priority.  In the years since, I have regretted not having those special pieces that symbolized our joining and that we could pass along.  I guess everything works out in the end because we now own the most beautiful China that is even more special because it belonged to my great grandmother.  I'm in love.


Thank you, Aunt Vicki, for everything.  We will cherish your gifts forever.  

Weekend Recap

As the weekend winds down, I am once again amazed how fast time flies.  Another week in the books.  My parents always told me that the older I got, the quicker they days would seem to pass...and they weren't kidding.

Snapshots from The Pearl Brewery

Friday evening started off with a quick trip to one of my favorite places in San Antonio, The Pearl Brewery.  There are such wonderful architectural details and textures there, it was the perfect place for my sister to get some photos for a photography project and for me to scope out some areas for an upcoming "photo shoot."  We shot photos until the sun was setting and then headed home to whip up a tasty spaghetti dinner.  After dinner we relaxed and visited for a bit before deciding to take a little trip down the road for some of our favorite margaritas and dessert at El Jarro restaurant.  Delicious!

El Jarro Margaritas and Tres Leches

The weather was unusually warm during the daytime this weekend, so we spent as much time outdoors as possible.  Saturday was so beautiful that it was tough being inside at all.  My husband and I ventured to the driving range and then came home and worked in the yard a bit.  Yes, it was so nice that even working in the yard was desirable.  I then got comfortable on the patio with a new read, A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff.  It was tough putting it down the rest of the weekend to get on with life.  More on that later.  By the time dinner time came around, I set it aside to spend time with my husband.  I made one of my favorite new meals, fish tacos; fresh tilapia grilled and wrapped in corn tortillas, garnished with red onion, cilantro, and a wonderful mango pico de gallo.  So light and wonderful, perfect after a beautiful day outside.  We still had some movie passes we received for Christmas begging to be used so we decided we'd go see the new movie, Haywire.  It was OK...I was neither impressed or disappointed.  But with that said, I must admit not a super tough movie critic, if I'm entertained, I'm happy.  My husband, on the other hand, thought it was horrible.  I'd recommend waiting and renting, or avoiding all together.  


I woke up Sunday feeling a little icky but made it out for a bit to my nephew's 7th birthday party which was all about Angry Birds.  To say that he is "into" them is an understatement.  In true Angry Bird fashion, instead of hitting his pinata with a bat, they launched softballs at the Angry Bird pinata with a giant slingshot.  I'll have to get some photos from my parents.  He has grown up so much over the last few years and has such a funny personality.  It's hard to believe he is already seven years old.

Micah's "Angry Birds" Birthday Cake

As I don't quite feel 100%, we left the party a little early to come home and rest.  His actual birthday was last weekend so we got to spend a lot of time with him then when we went bowling as a family.  He was too busy with his friends today to notice we snuck out right after he opened his gifts.  I was happy get home to watch football and read.  I finished the book and have to say that it is probably one of my favorites all time.  How could I not love it with a title like that!?


Monday is lurking but it is nice to look back on the weekend and be thankful for the amazing times I enjoyed with my husband and family.  Have a great week!

Fancy Faye Jewelry

I mentioned yesterday that I have been making jewelry for quite a while now.  Well, I have a few completed necklaces for an upcoming show, so I thought I would give a little preview of some of my favorites.  Like what you see?  Shoot me an email and I can give you prices.

FancyFayeBoutique@yahoo.com

Handmade Earrings

I've been making jewelry since high school.  It all started when I couldn't find any prom jewelry I liked (sorry Claire's), so I made it myself.  I typically tend to be drawn to making necklaces and haven't actually made earrings in years, but that changed today.  See, I was in the mood to create but am very low on supplies, so I worked with what I had.  Turns out making earrings is a great solution for using those random beads you have only a few of left.   Check out what I came up with.

Did you happen to notice that amazing china featured in two of the photos?  It was passed down to me this past weekend and I'm obsessed.  Story on that later.  

Revamping with Stained Sharpies

Stained by Sharpie Fabric Markers

One of my favorite gifts from my husband this year for Christmas was the set of Stained by Sharpie fabric markers.  I've seen them used on DIY projects across the web and was thrilled to get my own set!  Thanks, babe!  


So I finally have these bad boys in my possession and my creativity was a bit at a stand still.  I'll blame it on all the holiday decorating, crafting, and cooking.  Sadly, my new friends sat unused for a few weeks before I felt inspired to break them out.

Goodwill Clutch Purse - Before

The inspiration came to me while browsing for spoons at a local Goodwill (for another craft).  I struck out on the spoons but scored with this little canvas clutch for a steal at .49!  It is super fun and with it's cream and plum geometric print and cute hinged closure that I pulled out my wallet and gladly handed over my change!  Yay for not going home empty handed!


The only flaw with this little guy was that some of the cream areas had tiny little stains that were just slightly noticeable.  I couldn't deal with that, especially with a solution! 

Goodwill Clutch Purse- After

What a perfect starter project for my new Stained Sharpies!  I love plum and red paired together so I got started coloring the areas with the discoloration and stains.  Once all of those areas were taken care of, I just chose other random areas until I got my desired look.  I love the way it turned out.  Now I have a one-of-a-kind accessory that I had a hand in "designing."  My new clutch is being used as a purse makeup bag and I love it even more every time I see it.  When you smile each time you look at something, you know you truly love it.  


I'm back to looking for new ideas on how to use my fabric Sharpies...if you have any you think I should try, send them my way!

Vintage Barclay Bracelet

On a recent thrifting trip with a dear friend, I acquired this lovely vintage bracelet.  I must admit, this bracelet is not actually a bracelet, it's a very short choker necklace that is the perfect length to double, creating a fun chunky bracelet.  I've been coveting a piece like this to add to my collection for several months and was thrilled to be able to snatch it up for a just a few bucks!  I love the look of it paired with my over-sized Michael Kors watch or stacked with other styles of bracelets!

As soon as I got it home, I had to do some research on the marking.  Thanks to illusionjewels.com and vintagecostumejewels.com, I was able to read about the maker, Barclay, a popular "post war retro" costume jeweler from Providence, RI that manufactured from 1946 to approximately 1957.  Being that I love vintage, I also love history...and this bracelet definitely has a history!

You can find so many amazing things in thrift stores!  By purchasing items in your local thrift stores, you are not only "recycling," the best part is, most thrift stores and resale shops benefit the community!  Look at you-- You're Going Green and you're a Fashionable Philanthropist! Is there anything better than that? 

Coming Soon...

The adventure is about to begin.  I'm nervous.  I'm excited.  I'm anxious.  I'll be back to post when I have all my thoughts organized and ready! EEEEEE!!!!