Wednesday 29 August 2012

Before and After: Jewelry Box


A couple weeks ago I picked up this sad jewelry box from a garage sale, seeing great potential in the little drawers, and the necklace hanger.  Plus, the stained glass and mirrored back were too cute to pass up, especially for $4.

Well, sadly the "stained glass" was no match for masking tape, so the one element I wanted to keep had to go.  Now that all is said and done, however, I am glad that there isn't that stained glass busying up the front of the box, and instead keeps the busy visual interest to the contents! I have a bit of a yellow and blue thing going on in my room, which I wanted to be the colour scheme for the makeover.  Michael's had a sale going on on their scrapbook paper, so I picked up a couple sheets for the liners and got a couple sheets to play around with, too.  This was hands down the longest time I have ever spent in the scrapbooking section.  Ephraim pointed out that blogging is just like online scrapbooking, which put me in my place somewhat.  Though I don't put word stickers all over everything... "before" and "after" excluded, haha!


All in all this makeover cost me about $20, including the cost of the original jewelry box.  Honestly, most of that cost went to the yellow spray paint (I had a leftover can of white from last hallowe'en!), and buying a new jar of rubber cement as mine had congealed a bit.  I'm saying that this was definitely worth the time and money, especially now that I look back on these comparison shots! Now I have a perfect place to store my clip-on earrings, and some of my prettiest necklaces!

"Amour" just about sums it up!
I'm so happy with how this project turned out! Are you giving any old items a much needed facelift?

--Erin

13 comments:

  1. So kick-ass. You gots an eye for colour, darlin'.

    -E

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  2. That looks so cute! My mum has a jewellery box like this. Wonder what she'd say if I hijacked it and pimped it up!

    Becky
    xx

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    1. Thanks Becky! It's always neat to see how much a coat of paint can revitalize something!
      --Erin

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  3. Oh so sweet! Love the colour combo! I also feel like blogging is the perfect fire to light under one's ass and keep them busy, whatever the project, recipe or story may be :) Good work Chicklet!

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    1. The colours make me so happy! I had no idea how many options I would be confronted with for the liners, it was hard to choose! And man, I have been loving having the motivation not to just collapse after work, and work on something for myself :)
      --Erin

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  4. Man! You made it looks GORGEOUS!


    xoxo mama wolf.

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    1. Thank you so much! Honestly, I could have done just about anything to that box and it would have improved it. Maybe even including setting it on fire. That bad boy was in sorry shape! I do so enjoy looking at it that much more, now!

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  5. Hello there! This is awesome, my grandpa gave my daughter a jewelry box similar to this one, after seeing your post I think she may enjoy it more if I spruce it up a bit. Thanks for the inspiration :) Also, you are a lovely photographer!

    Krystal, Newest follower via BBN
    http://wildflowers3.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks so much Krystal! Photography is definitely the area in which I have seen the most personal improvement over the last few months!

      One piece of advice I can give for this is have a second opinion for the scrapbook paper if you go for a patterned inside! There were so many choices in the eye it made my head spin. Having someone else even as a sounding board helped a lot.

      --Erin

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  6. This is amazing! I'm going to keep my eye out for a jewelry box like that!

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  7. Hi Erin,
    I am writing a blog for Goodwill that is highlighting donated treasures and creative upcycling. I really liked your project. I shared your before/after photo of your altered jewelry box. I wanted to give you credit for the project so I posted a link to your blog. Is that okay with you? Or do you have a preferred way of sharing, like a button? Thank you!
    Susan

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed the project! My spiffed up jewelry box is one of my favourite makeovers I've ever done, and certainly helped me look at secondhand items with a bit more imagination. Thank you for linking back to the post!

      --Erin

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  8. Hi Erin,
    Yeah! I am glad I found you! I am new at editing the Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan blog for our Treasure Chest. I will be focusing on vintage clothing, DIY, unique treasures and decorating with common donated items to Goodwill. I have your blog on my list to check frequently and will continue to link back when our "stars align". Here is the link to the blog http://treasurechest01.blogspot.com/
    Thanks again!
    Susan

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Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I love answering questions (comments, concerns, the works!) so check back sometime for a reply! :)