Air Vent Covers and Radiator Grates

Jewelry is something that has always been a pain to organize.  If you take it on a trip it gets tangled up, if you put it in a box you have to dig through it, if you can't find a pair you have to wear the same ones all the time, if you give a mouse a cookie... you see what I mean?

So I thought it was time for me to figure out some way to organize my dangly earrings in a way that was easy to make and attractive.  While I was abroad I spent much time perusing other blogs for inspiration  and found this lovely idea HERE.  I knew that I wanted to make something like that for my earrings because of how easy and aesthetically pleasing it is (Hey! That rhymes!).

So in my first week home I went shopping for radiator grates which I described to the guys at Home Depot as air vent covers.  This lead me to the (surprise)... air vent covers and I looked at them trying to think if that is how it was made on the website because it didn't look possible with even decorative air vent covers.

That is how I got into an intense conversation about how "I'm not an artist per se but more of a DIY kind of gal" with the Home Depot employees.  Eventually we all agreed the vents would not work and I went off to look for what else it could be.

I was strolling down the aisles trying not to get distracted and then spotted (by accident of course) some large sheets of metal with designs on them which were perfect for my project!  I quickly grabbed one and ran back to the guys who had been helping us figure out the best way to hang earrings off an air vent to see if they cut metal in the store or if I had to buy the whole sheet and cut it at home.  They directed me to the wood cutting department and so I excitedly hopped over there with my 3 x 5 feet of radiator cover.

Once I reached the area I had to wait for the attendant to ask my rather bizarre question.  So as he arrived I kindly asked him if they cut metal by chance or if I'll have to buy the whole sheet.  At this point he gave me what could have been his life story before ending with "We sell things you can buy to cut the metal but I'm not going to do it for you".  So after spending far longer than expected at Home Depot I paid for my huge sheet of metal and went home.  (If you happen to get an earring holder for a gift it's because I have so much of the stuff left over)

I had already purchased a frame from Walmart that was 11 x 13 with a white mat that made the frame 8 x 10.  I then wrote on the metal with a sharpie where I needed to cut.  Once that was done I asked my dad if he could cut it for me.  Then all that was left to do was tape it to the mat and hang it on the wall!

 As you can see I have too many earrings.  Perhaps this project will inspire me to purge some of the ones that I don't wear...

 But I could wear them all... one day.

Isn't this adorable, and so useful!  It's wonderful to have all my options right where I can see them.  I do wear earrings more often now that I can see what I have!  This project was a bit on the expensive side but only because I had to purchase the whole sheet of metal.  However, now I have a great gift idea that would only cost me the price of the frame!  Here's a budget breakdown for you if you're interested in doing a similar project!

Budget Breakdown

Metal Sheet - $25 

Frame - $12

Total: $37

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for reading!