To do this project, you first need to find you a printer's tray. This may not be easy. Some great places to search for these are local antique stores, Craigslist, Etsy or Ebay. I was luck enough to get one from my boss, and I also found one on Craigslist. Most of the one's I've seen range from $35 - $75 depending on the condition. After tracking down the tray, I got to work! This is the fun part but the most challenging - REPURPOSING your tray! I did get some help from my husband and father-in-law towards the end, and I'm so grateful for their help. In addition, to loving the color combo I used for this project, I also love using the crackle to get the antique look.
DIY Project 2: Christmas gift for Molly - Printer's tray repurposed into a jewelry organizer
Materials:
- Printer's Tray
- Ceramcoat All Purpose Sealer
- Two acrylic paint colors (your base coat and your top coat) - I used brown for my base coat and a turquoise shade for my top coat. The base coat is your color that will show through the crackle so it's best to use colors that contrast well together. Some other combinations I like are brown/pink, black/white and black/lime.
- Ceramcoat Crackle
- Ceramcoat Varnish
- Paint brushes
- Eye hooks
- Cup hooks
- Seal the tray. Let dry.
- Apply base coat. Dry again. Apply more coats as needed to cover your piece. This is probably the most time consuming portion because you have to cover all the small boxes, nooks and crannies.
- Apply crackle. Don't let it completely dry. Dry till it's tacky. Then immediately apply top coat. Let dry completely. This is second most time consuming portion. I found it easiest to do this in sections because the crackle dries so quickly and it does take some time to apply it in all the boxes.
- Apply varnish. Let dry completely.
- Twist in the eye hooks and cup hooks into the boxes. These boxes will mainly be for your earrings and bracelets. I found it best to use eye hooks for the small boxes and cup hooks for the larger boxes. You might need some help with this step. I would advise using a pair of work gloves as twisting these does take some finesse. You might even want to try drilling out the holes first with a small drill bit to make that process a little easier.
- Twist in your cup hooks on the bottom of the frame for hanging your long necklaces.
Finally, Molly sent me the final product with some jewelry on it. I'm such a fan of this organizer that I plan on making one for myself! Woot! I feel that I'll be more likely to wear my jewelry every day if I'm actually able to see it. Promise to post some more upclose photos of the one I make for myself. Happy DIYing!!!
