quick fix: hanging jewelry organizer

I'm very excited about this project, mostly because it cost me next to nothing and saved me from the daily headache of going through this ridiculous mess:

I share the top of my dresser with a TV, so the little usable space I have was getting really messy.  I had organizers for my necklaces and earrings, but they were overflowing and everything was always getting tangled up.  I decided enough was enough.

I was originally inspired by this idea, and set out to find a cheap bulletin board since I knew I already had several choices for fabric in my stash.  But then I found this beauty at Target and my plans changed.

I didn't even know they made "seagrass" bulletin boards, but our bedroom already has a lot of earth tones in it, so this would coordinate perfectly without having to be covered with fabric.  Plus I couldn't pass up the price.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the color of the frame.  I wanted it to be brown to match the rest of the room (plus the brand name was printed in bright, white letters on the bottom part of the frame so I wanted that gone too).  So I covered up the seagrass part with newspaper and masking tape and then spray-painted the frame brown.

I let it dry and removed the newspaper and tape.  Apparently I didn't tape the newspaper down as well as I thought, since the paint got through in some places.  But I forgave myself and figured that soon those spots would be covered up anyway.

I got the hubby to help me install the hanging hardware.  The frame had pre-drilled holes in it for the screws, but they were pretty small so he made them a little bigger and then the screws went right in.  I think he was happy to have an excuse to use his power drill.  :o)

I hung it up next to my dresser, and the jewelry hanging began today at naptime!  I decided to use a combination of upholstery tacks (because they're cheap yet not cheap-looking like plastic thumbtacks would be), and some pretty covered tacks I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

I staggered the hanging necklaces on the bottom since I knew they'd hang down the longest, and added the bracelets above.

As you can see, there's still plenty of room on the top for more stuff.  And by doing this, I found a few items I forgot I had!  I was also inspired by the few pieces I've made myself, so maybe I'll get back into that soon.

But perhaps best of all is my new dresser top.

My earrings are still in their organizer, but look at all the room I have!  I was able to add a few more items like that picture of my son, and a small bowl which is currently holding the leftover tacks for whenever I have a new piece of jewelry to hang.   I no longer feel quite as claustrophobic or frustrated trying to find a necklace or bracelet, and that whole area of our room just looks more put together now.  Yay.  :o)