September 2014

My favorite DIY projects are those that are functional, and I most definitely needed something to hang up my necklaces. As a self-proclaimed non-accessorizer, I don’t think about wearing jewelry often. This handy brass jewelry hanger will hopefully remind me of the necklaces I do have.

This is really the simplest project if you start with the right supplies. I ended up doing quite a bit of experimenting.

Supplies needed: a brass tube, rope, s-hooks (I recommend buying more than 5 to balance things out), scissors

May be needed: Pliers, wrench, crochet thread

I found most of my supplies at Ace Hardware.

First things first – open up those s-hooks! To make things easier, you might want to choose open s-hooks to begin with. I was really set on this brass color (rather than steel), so I used pliers and a wrench to turns these 8′s into S’s.

The next step is to feed the rope through the brass tube. Unless you have really tiny rope, it might be hard to feed it all the way through. I decided to pull crochet thread through the tube first, tightly tying my thread to the end of the rope.

Cut and tie your rope together at whichever length you’d like. Loop your s-hooks onto the pole and hang up your beautiful jewelry for the whole wide world (or just you) to see!

Hope you enjoyed this project! Do you have any fancy ways of displaying your jewelry?

PS – don’t pass up the chance to win some cozy fall accessories! Enter my “Happy Fall” giveaway here.

My grandma weaves breathtaking wall hangings (and blankets and sweaters) on a giant loom that just looks so crazy and complicated to me. It’s a beast. I always used to say, “someday I’ll learn to weave…” in a wistful way like it would take me years and years. It wasn’t until I started seeing small-scale weaving tutorials (see list at the bottom) that I realized I could actually do this at any time, with a random old cardboard box. I am much less intimidated by weaving now, but even more in awe of it.

1. Wild Columbine Textile
2. Ran Ran Design
3. Oh Albatross
4. Hiedra
5. Toni Penrose for Moorea Seal
6. Straw & Gold
7. Liz Toohey-Wiese
8. Combed Thunder
9. Heddle & Needle

Here is one of my very favorite weavings made by my grandma. For a long time she lived in Gualala, a tiny town along the Northern California coast. Gualala is all redwood trees, oceans, and artists. It’s my favorite place in the entire world and my heart aches a little every time I visit because it is so full of wonderful memories. Anyway, this weaving is inspired by Gualala. Amazing, huh? I’ll share more of her work in the future.

Is weaving something you have tried or would like to get into? Also, does anybody else have a favorite place like Gualala, that is filled to the brim with sweet childhood memories?

ps. Here are a few weaving tutorials that I think are quite excellent:

Weaving 101 | Playful Learning
DIY Woven Wall Hanging | Honestly WTF
Weaving Class: The Basics | A Beautiful Mess
Learn to Weave | Clare McGibbon on The Etsy Blog