Jewelry Tree Stand

On top of everything I discussed in Unveiling the Valentine, my Valentine's Day gift was a beautiful, white Jewelry Tree Stand. It was even adorned with jewelry for me. The pictures I took show a mix of jewelry Johnathan got me along with pieces I already owned.

One of my favorite parts about this present was the presentation. The surprise and laughter.  Even moments before receiving my tree stand, Johnathan had me laughing, eyes covered, as he tilted me to the side telling me to watch my head. There's nothing above my head, we're in your room. I laughed. Whoa! Whoa! Duck down! He exclaimed, as he pushed on the back of my shoulder, and bent me over. You're being silly! There's nothing there! I giggled. He uncovered my eyes, and there on his dresser was a veil of bright yellow tissue paper covering my beautiful jewelry tree stand.

This gift is truly fantastic!  

Although I do not have lots of jewelry, what I do have tends to become a tangled, unorganized mess. And I'm getting a little too old to have my jewelry all knotted in a ball, even if it is hidden discretely within a deceptively pretty jewelery box.

At Christmas time my brother, Tony, also gifted me a wonderful jewelry organizer. It's a large jewelry box that hangs on the wall and appears to only be a multi-photo picture frame.  I like to imagine people visiting and admiring my photographs while I alone know that handfuls of rubies and diamonds lye behind each memory. Really there's just some plastic beads and a bit of sterling silver...but they'll never know! ;) I'd love to share it with you, but I'll have to share photos of it another day, since it is back home in WI at the moment.

Jewelry is just one of those things that looks all glamorous until you own it. Once it's tangled and piled under five other necklaces, the glitzy glamor of it quickly fades and you're left standing there wishing you had some new, pretty jewelry to wear.  Whereas, if we could just keep them on display all delicate and dainty, the temptation to wear them would last a lot longer; just like in the store, these tricks will get us every time.

Keep my eye on the sparkles

I'm also guilty of not remembering to wear the jewelry I own. Out of sight out of mind, I suppose. So this little Jewelry Tree will help keep my eyes on the sparkles and remind me to wear what I've been thoughtfully given.

It's also just right because it coordinates perfectly with the poster Johnathan created, tying everything together nicely.  This Jewelry Tree Stand was a sweet gift that helped me get a little more organized, and I just love looking at it!

Never Underestimate an Upcycle

These days it seems we can't simply renew an item, we need to make it glitter and gloat "crafty" or it isn't worth our time. Yet retail stores are selling simple, solid colors by the millions; they never forget, solid shades are timeless. So what if simple doesn't emulate the I-spent-time-on-this craft mentality.  It's still a valuable undertaking. 

I do believe more of us are performing easy upcycles, we just aren't sharing them because they're not glittery to gaze upon.  Well, I don't have that fear. I'm going to make you look at my underestimated thrift projects, because they're impressive (to me). 

Underestimated Upcylce Numero Uno: Johnathan wanted a wall rack for his sweatshirts.

His chair wasn't cutting it anymore. It had lost its chair-ness.

So we went to the thrift store and bought one for a $1.99.  Except it had been crafted on before, and didn't quite suite Johnathan's style.

This pic makes the paint job appear far better than it was. Trust me.

Johnathan's timeless shade choice is black. So we needed to make a few crafty, quick changes   Luckily we had everything we needed right at home: *Sandpaper *Primer *Black Spray Paint and  *Screws,  which were kindly packaged and taped to the back of this donated wall rack. 

I sat down and sanded off the raised paint and small chips. Then we went outside and sprayed the rack with primer.

Once the primer dried, we took the rack back outside and spray painted it a stylish black.  We left the screws yellow for a small dash of color...

And voila! No more sweatshirts piled all sloppy on a chair.  

 

We accomplished a craft of organization. 

Sometimes easy does it, which is why we should never underestimate an upcycle.  Besides, most of these racks sell anywhere from $15.00 - $60.00--

upcycling an item will feel like a steal.  

Upcycle Star for Me!

Thrifting and upcycling aid the Earth's sustainability as well as our wallets.  

Win - Win! 

TRIPLE win here (we're cleaner than we were yesterday)!