That Did Not Go As Expected...

My bff's birthday was last month.  I knew she wanted a necklace holder for a while, so I set about finding one on the interwebs.  I didn't like any of the mass made ones, so I turned to Etsy.  50.00 (plus shipping) for a "distressed vintage victorian upcycled steampunk gothic hobo handmade environmentally-friendly mirrored jewelry hanger" sounded like a bit much and I thought "I could totally make this myself".  Yea-ha.

I went to Hobby Lobby and acquired the necessary supplies.  I had a loose idea of what I wanted to do, so I got some basic things:  a picture frame (30.00 but on sale for 14.00.  HOLLA!), some wood ornaments (2.00/ea), wood glue (I dunno, 5.00 maybe?), and some spray paint (4.00? 5.00?  I give up).  This was gonna be epic!

The supplies and apparently my shadow.  Also, my carpet that needs to be vacuumed.

I glued on the wood ornaments on the corners and let them dry overnight.  (One of them turned out a little bit crooked, but my mom assures me that only adds character.)  Then, I spray painted it.  In the wind.  Wearing my black dress pants.  I'm smart.

Now, my bff loves Old Hollywood, so I just knew the perfect thing for the knobs to hang her necklaces on would be these puppies right here:

And everyone's grandma has these, so you'd think they'd be easy to find.  WRONG.  So wrong.  I went to Lowe's, they had 3 left, one of which was the display knob which they couldn't figure out how to undo.  I was determined to have 5.  Next I went to Target.  They had some, but they weren't exactly what I was looking for and they were freaking 10.00/ea.  I finally found some at Home Depot for 4.00/ea.  Score.  I brought them home, drilled some holes in my frame (gosh, power tools are fun.) and voila! 

Featured:  Halfway finished frame.  Also featured:  Mostly painted wall.

My original plan was to stick some cork board in the back and cover it with fabric and then cover THAT with white metal netting so my friend could also hang her earrings on it.  Turns out cork board is EVIL and EXPENSIVE.

How much do you think this cost?  5.00? 10.00?  NOPE!  15.00!

I searched around for alternatives, I tried to find some way to make the tiles work.  I had a brilliant idea involving already framed canvas, but that fell through.  In the end, I bought the stupid roll of cork.  I took it home and cut it to fit the inside of my frame.  It was then I discovered the sad fact that cork is mushy, floppy, and falls apart easily, a fact I was not prepared for.  I watched in horror as 15.00 crumbled before my eyes.  I tried gluing several layers together.  I tried gluing the fabric to it.  Nothing worked.  I threw all the cork in the trash and sat on the floor.  I had promised my bff her present the next day!  What would I do?  Hobby Lobby was closed, Lowe's was closed, as a last resort, I called Home Depot and told the man in the lumber department my sad sordid tale.  He told me to bring my frame and he would help me.  AND HE DID!  He found me some wood of the right thickness and cut it for me at no extra cost!  It was amazing. 

I took the wood home and was just going to cover that with fabric but my mom and sister protested.  They thought I should glue a layer of cork on top of the wood so my friend could use it as a pin board too.  I said no.  I was frustrated and by this time I had spent two weeks on the project (I was sick with tonsillitis, a sinus infection, and an ear infection and spent one of those weeks in bed watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and using copious amounts of tissue and whining), but they insisted.  So I told them FINE!  YOU DO IT!  My sister got out the handy hot glue gun and got to work.  She attached the cork and the fabric for me and then we wood glued that sucker together. 

Final result?

Worth it.