Jewelery Organizer Board Tutorial

Hello there!  Hope that you had a great weekend.  I learned something new; there actually is a point at which I feel totally crafted out.  I did not want to take one single stitch more.  I did not want to fantasize about new projects.  I did not want to fondle fabrics.  I did not care to flip through any craft magazines.  Luckily, I am almost back to normal today....  :-)

So, as you may recall, I am leaving for a trip back home to Sweden very soon.  I am trying to get all my craft projects in one row before the plane takes off.  I have a list of things that I need to work on:

i)  A scissors case/needle book for my Little Sister

ii)  A picture for my Littlest sister

iii)  A birth sampler - the new baby arrived last week!  My brand new nephew, Edvard, is a giant, weighing in at over 11 lbs at birth... 

iv)  Fun stuff in general...

So, I started with the last item and decided to make some quick jewelery organizer boards for my sisters.  (I'll post more about the other projects tomorrow.  Maybe...)  I made one for myself not too long ago and figured that the sisters may like to have one each as well.  As you can see from the photo below, mine gets used plenty!  

I decided to try my hand at a tutorial, since I love to browse the net for those and I enjoy reading them a lot...

 Let's get started:
1)  Gather up all your materials.

• You need a couple of fabrics that look good together.  Size will depend on how large you make your board.
• A frame easel (got mine at Hobby Lobby for less than $5)
• Warm and Natural batting or something similar
• 6 Beads or Buttons
• General tools; paper scissors, fabric scissors, X-Acto knife, sewing needle and strong sewing thread, thin permanent marker, pencil, heavy cardboard (I use mat board), foam board, glue, hot-glue gun

 

2)  Draw up your board shape on the heavy card board.  This will be your board back.  I use one of my dessert plates as the template.  It is square with rounded corners - the rounded corners makes this project so much easier!!!

3)  Draw up the same shape on the mat board.  Cut out this part with the X-Acto knife about 1/2 inch in from the shape and lay on top of the heavy cardboard to check the fit.  The larger mat-board cut out should form a shape around the foam board.

4)  Cut out two layers of batting the same size as your board.  You can adhere them lightly to the board using glue stick or similar.  The glue is just to help keeping the batting in place during assembly, so use a very small amount!

5)  I like the board to be of a "mattress type", so I add a few beads on the front.  Prep your board by drawing two vertical lines equidistant from the center of the foam board.  Mark three locations on each line, center, towards the top and towards the bottom - this is where you will add your beads, after you have "dressed" your foam board.  Use a large, thicker sewing needle to pierce a hole in each marked location of your board. 

6)  Cut out the main fabric about 1 inch around the foam board.  If you have a pattern with a directionality to it, be sure to mark the pattern direction on the foam board to ensure that your pattern won't end up sideways or upside-down. 

 

7)  Make a gathering seam by using your strong thread to sew a running stitch all the way around the fabric edge.  Be sure to leave two long ends.  Place your foam board, batting down on top of the fabric back - check fabric pattern direction - and pull your long thread ends.  Voila!!!  Just like magic!

 

8)  Add the beads with the strong sewing thread.  Simply pull thread through hole 1, pick up bead, down same hole, up next hole and continue until complete.  Tie off thread ends - be sure to pull enough to create the small dents in the fabric/batting for the "mattress" effect.  The front is finished!

 

9)  Do the same with the back - the mat board.  Keep in mind that the side with the gathered fabric will actually be your front, so be fairly generous with the fabric allowance so that gathering thread or edge won't show.

 

10)  Use the hot glue gun to fix front and back together.  Gathering-side to gathering side, so that back is as nice as front.  If your place is like mine, you won't have any place to do this but the stove top...

11)  You know what - you are finished - slam on holder and pin jewelery in place!  (Pardon the really fuzzy pic - I guess that I just ran out of gas right about here...)  

The yellow fabric is designed by Tula Pink, by the way.  It makes me really happy!  Bright yellow and orange with a bunch of keys hanging off trees and flowers.  Wonderful!

This is such a quick, cheap, and simple project, so it would be a lot of fun to do with the younger girls in your life (or for yourself, just because)!  The possibilities are endless; different shapes, one to hang on the wall, a narrow long one to use for brooch display only, one with a cross-stitched border or a monogram - you name it!

Please let me know if anything is unclear, or if something needs explained more in detail/doesn't make sense.  I also know that many of you could have figured this one out all by yourself, so I hope that I didn't bore you to death...  ;-)

Anyway, I hope that you will try to make one or a couple of these. Let me know if you do, so I get to admire your ideas.

Have fun and talk with you soon!  

Good night,