Monday, April 18, 2011

Make-It Mondays: Suitcase Jewelry Display

This week's tutorial comes from our very own Erin of Sunshyne Silverwear. If you are thinking of ways to reuse thrifted finds for displays at shows you don't want to miss it! Enjoy:

This was a very fun project, so easy too. (right up my alley) I've known for a while that at arts and crafts shows I wanted to showcase my silver spoons separately. One day while scouring for silverware at my local V.O.A., I spotted an old beat up suitcase that I knew would be perfect for the job. (and at 99 cents, I couldn't pass it up) I've seen other artists use vintage suitcases to sell their wares out of, but I've never seen one for jewelry. Well today was the day.



Materials:
* Vintage Suitcase
* 1/2 inch wooden dowels (4)


* 1/2 inch dowel caps (8)
* 1/2 inch drill bit
* Power drill
* Wood glue
* Small hand saw
* Tape measure
* Marker







First I eyeballed it and figured out where I wanted my dowels to go on the inside. I had to account for the length of the necklaces when hung to decide where I wanted the lower bar. Then I measured and marked where I wanted to drill and drilled a hole right through the suitcase. (It was surprisingly easy considering this particular suitcase feels like it's made out of a thick cardboard!)


Once all 8 holes were drilled, I measured how long the dowel would need to be and cut them to size. *Note the comfy house slippers, hey what do ya want, it's my day off ;)


I glued the dowel caps on only one end of the dowel so that I can pull them back through if needed.


Awesome finished product:




click on images to enlarge

I'm calling it 'Grandma's cupboard'.See more of my silverware creations on my web site www.sunshynesilverwear.com

2 comments:

  1. That looks amazing!! Your necklaces really stand out and look so polished against the suitcase. Love it!

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  2. Very cool! I already use vintage suitcase in my displays, but I may do a version of this someday and do shelves instead of dowels. This might be good for some suitcases I have where the lid lays flat instead of up. That's if I can bear to alter a vintage suitcase! (for fear of ruining it!) ;)

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