DIY Jewelry Display: Great Mother's Day Gift

What do you do with your jewelry at the end of the night? Drop it on your nightstand in a tangled pile? I’m sure I’m not alone here. What if instead you had a pretty place to put it – featuring your kids drawings and photos – that would put a smile on your face every single day? That’s just what I created from a thrift store utensil tray! What mom wouldn’t want one of these for Mother’s Day?! I’ll show you how easy it is to make…

I have a pretty good jewelry organizing set-up in my closet, but I’m often too lazy at the end of the night to put my jewelry back where it belongs. Instead, it ends up in a pile on my nightstand or bathroom counter until I finally put it away a few days later. It gets tangled, the kids start playing with it, and I worry something will get lost or broken.

When I received a thrift store bamboo utensil tray in the mail from a fellow blogger as part of a fun exchange called Swap It Like It’s Hot, I knew this tray had so much more potential outside of a kitchen drawer.

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The tray had a bit of a clear finish on it, so before painting it, I started with a quick coat of Bulls Eye 123 Primer.

Then I painted the edges and back of the tray using gold paint that I had left over from the desk and chair makeover that I did for the Denver Home Show last month. Rust-Oleum Metallic Accents Gold Mine is seriously my new favorite gold paint because it is so super shiny and really looks like gold!

Once the paint was dry, I added a gold cup hook to the inside edge of the largest tray opening. I thought I would be able to just screw it in by hand, but after much frustration I gave in and drilled a small pilot hole. Then the screw went in like a breeze.

I originally planned to use some left over black and white brush stroke scrapbook paper for the back of each opening in the tray, but then I realized that the tray would be so much more special if I had my boys create the art for it!

I normally don’t let the boys draw with Sharpies {way to permanent}, but I made an exception for this project after covering the table in plastic.

After they created their abstract black drawings, I gave them each a gold Sharpie paint marker to add a little bling to their works of art.

I measured the size of each tray opening, and cut the boys’ drawings to fit two of the spaces. I then printed one of my favorite photos of the boys in black and white and cut it to fit another opening.

Lastly, I used a piece of left over snake-skin textured glossy black scrapbook paper for the final section of the tray. I used Elmer’s Craft Bond spray adhesive, sprayed on to the back of each piece of paper, to affix them in the openings of the tray.

I had been trying to come up with something that would work as a ring holder. I remembered that I had purchased some plastic animals for another project, and I thought the elephant’s trunk would be a perfect place to hang a ring. I grabbed a can of Rust-Oleum White Lacquer spray paint {also left over from that chair makeover}…

…and gave the elephant a very glossy, fresh new look.

I set the elephant in place by gluing his feet down with Gorilla Glue. I also grabbed a small, square drawer organizer bin {again, left over from another project – love those leftovers!}, and glued it into the lowest section of my jewelry display as an earring holder.

Utensil Tray Upcycled to Jewelry Display

I LOVE how this jewelry display came together! It gives me a spot for a few necklaces, my ring, and lots of earrings. It’s just what I needed to keep my jewelry from becoming a jumbled mess at the end of each night.

The addition of my boys’ photo and artwork makes me grin from ear to ear. The tray stands up on its own, but I opted to mount it on a wall with a few Command Picture Hanging Strips.

Utensil Tray Upcycled to Mother's Day Jewelry Display

I can’t think of any mom or grandma who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive a jewelry display like this for Mother’s Day. It’s so easy to personalize with paint, photos, art, or scrapbook paper of your choosing.