From Drab to Fab: Garage Sale Finds

This past weekend marked Clawson’s first city wide garage sale, and the inspiration for my first blog. While browsing a sale on Kinross, Saturday afternoon, I stumbled upon (literally tripped on) an item that I had to have – a vintage picture frame made from shabby wood, and worn with time. The intricate designs spoke to me, and I instantly knew what I would do with the frame, it would be transformed into the latest trend in organization, a jewelry display.

I hurried home to start my latest project and began by cleaning the frame with a rag and water, removing all of the dust and dirt that had accumulated over the years.  After the frame was squeaky clean I brought it outside to the front lawn where I laid it on a bed of newspapers and sprayed the frame with white spray paint found in storage. The entire frame was covered in a coat of fresh paint and looked better than ever.

The next day I measured the length inside the frame, marking every two inches with a pencil and repeating on the opposite side. Using needle-nose pliers and a hammer I pounded wire brads into the pencil markings on the back. I carefully wrapped floral wire around the brads with the pliers, pulling the wire tight like a guitar string. With a little floral wire, the jewelry can hang from the frame, and when mounted on a wall the jewelry appears to be floating within the frame.

Once the wires are secured, even the heaviest of necklaces can safely rest in the stylish display. The end result, a wallet $2 thinner and new jewelry display that allows for those great statement pieces to be shown off, and stored effectively.   

Ready to clear space and try the trend? Share your pictures with us and let us know how you took an old frame from drab to fab!