DIY Jewelry Holder for about $10

So my girlfriend had been eyeing these wooden on the wall jewelry holders for a while that a few sites and some people on Etsy sell. She wanted a way to store her "statement" necklaces and pieces so they were easier to see and reach. Rather than allow her to purchase something well made, and reasonably priced, I insisted that she let me make her one from scratch. Here is the process and some basic guidelines should you choose to try this yourself after the jump.

the finished piece mounted to the wall

another view of the finished piece

Building a jewelry hanger for about $10:

Before you get started, take a look around online at some of the existing options and make sure this is a project that is worth making yourself. I find that a lot of DIY projects are great, and its wonderful to save money and make it yourself, but a lot of time you dont save any money as materials in small quantities are expensive and you need the proper tools and skills to make it.

Assumptions:

This is a very brief write-up and I am making a few assumptions about the project cost and instructions:

• You already have the tools and knowledge to use them on hand
• You already have an appropriate and safe location to undertake this project
• You have access to scrap materials similar to what I have access to

Tools:

• Jigsaw or Scroll-saw (I used a jigsaw, a scroll saw will work fine as well)
• Power Drill
• Palm Sander or Sandpaper and Blocks
• Circular File (not critical but makes life easier)
• Wood Glue (I like gorilla wood glue the best)
• Wood Filler (cheap elmers works fine)
• Wood Screws (at least 1", will vary with whatever material you use)
• Something to cut 3/8" dowel with (miter saw, hand saw, hobby saw, good shears etc)

Materials:

• Scrap piece of 3/4" pine board large enough to cut your sides out of (you can use other wood, but why bother unless you are staining the piece)
• 1 or 2  4' 3/8" dowels for the pegs (no need to buy hardwood dowels)
• 3 pine/poplar/whatever 1x2's cut to the width you want your project (in our case 16")
• 1 decorative piece of trim that matches the length of your 1x2's (16")
• 1 1/2" dowel rod that is an inch longer than your piece (18" in my case)

Putting it all together:

If you are slick, or think you are slick (I fall into the later category), you can free hand draw out your pattern for your side piece on your piece of 3/4" board. If you are not slick, or simply want the two sides to match better, I suggest making a cardboard template first out of a cereal box. The added bonus to making a template (which I did NOT do) is consistency when making the sides; they come out more even.

I decided that I wanted to make room for 1 bracelet holding rod, and 2 rows of necklaces with the ability to add a third later if desired, and I wanted the decorative trim at the top so that I could notch it later to hold earrings if my girlfriend decided that she wanted that feature. There is no real rule here, just make sure you give some thought to your design and make it something that will be practical.

you can see this the first rough cut side I made

the scrap piece of wood I used to cut the sides out of

jigsaw and palm sander, remember let the power of the power tool do the work!

please please please wear gloves and safety glasses

Once you have cut out the two sides, you need to add little u-shaped holes for the bracelet rod to sit inside. If you are smart, and not rushing, you would drill these holes before cutting out the side pieces. If you are not smart, or you are in a rush (I was both of these things), you are forced to cut it out after the fact which is significantly more difficult. I would suggest boring it out with a spade bit, but unless you are VERY good with a power drill this will bring you great sadness. Instead, use your jigsaw and cut out the u-shaped channels.

up shaped channel! hooray!

Next you need to sand everything down. Use a palm sander on the large surface areas and hand sand with a block or sponge or paper on all the small surface areas. The more you sand, the better it will look when you are done with the project. 

Now you need to start attaching the cross pieces. Before you get too excited and screw everything together, it will save you a lot of time if you pre-drill the holes for the dowels in the 2  1x2s that will hold the necklaces. unfortunately, I did not take pictures of this step, but it is fairly easy to describe. Start by sanding your 1x2 smooth on all sides, then take a ruler and find the center of the 1x2 length-wise and width-wise and draw a long line that goes the entire 16" length in the center. Next measure out how many pegs you want in a row and evenly space them, making these spaces on the line you just drew across the 16" width. You should end up with a 16" line with tally marks on it in even intervals. 

Take your drill and a small bit, like a 1/8" bit and make small pilot holes at each of the tic marks on your 16" line. Don't drill all the way though the 1x2, only plunge about 3/4 of the way through. Once each hole has been drilled switch to your 3/8" bit (or bit that matches the diameter of the dowels), and lightly widen just the outer surface of each 1/8" hole. Do not drill into the piece, just widen the hole almost like you were counter-sinking a screw. Next take your drill, hold it at an angle and using the widened hole as a guide plunge down 3/4 of the way into the 1x2. This is tricky, and without a jig your holes wont be even, but repeat this process for both 1x2's and you will have nice pre-drilled holes for all your pegs. Sand down the surface and use your circular file to remove any burrs or uneven edges from the holes.

Next you need to take your 3/8" dowel and cut it down into 1.5" pegs that match the number of holes you drilled above. After cutting, take some sand paper and smooth out the ends of each peg tapering them slightly. Test fit your pegs into the holes drilled in the 1x2 and sand additionally as needed. Once you are sure every peg fits, put a small amount of wood glue into each hole and smear a tiny amount with your finger around the base of each peg. Insert the pegs into the holes, and push them in securely using a hard object (I used a small piece of scrap wood). Let these dry in place (should take an hour or so).

Once your pegs are in place, you can attach the 2 1x2's to the front of the jewelry holder. I did this by pre-drilling a pair of 1/8" holes at each end of the 1x2 and using a countersink to hide the wood screws.

about halfway along the process.

Around this time you may also find it advantageous to attach the trip piece to the top. In my case, the piece of trim I had was too small for screws, so I used 2 small brad-nails on either side and some wood glue. I also added a third 1x2 to the back that had 2 holes I pre-drilled and countersunk for mounting the jewelry holder to the wall. I attached this to the side pieces with a pocket hole jig, but really you can just shoot 2 screws through on each side just remember to counter sink and pre-drill the holes.

At this point everything should be all screwed and glued together and you can take the wood filler and fill in any mistakes/holes to get a nicer looking result when you paint the jewelry hanger. I would let it dry overnight, wood filler tends to hold a lot of moisture (the glue too) and you don't want your paint cracking or bubbling off later.

Once everything has dried, slap a few coats of spray paint on and you are good to go. For those curious I used val spar gloss white (which I absolutely loathe and hate). Im not going to write a painting tutorial here, but as a general rule of thumb with spray paint; get your gloss from the clear coat not the paint. Rustoleum painter's touch satin white would have been a MUCH better option. Its been over a week and the valspar still feels sticky when the sun shines on it. I hate that stuff.

When you attach to the wall, use something like ez-anchors or togglers, don't use those garbage plastic inserts you have to drill a hole for ahead of time. 

I apologize for not having more pictures, I forgot to take a bunch during the build. Please dont hesitate to ask questions below!