Canadian Tire isn’t one of my favourite places to shop. They sell things like automotive tools, sports equipment, hardware, power tools, kitchenware, tires (yes), etc. It smells like boxes, sawdust, and a lack of nail polish. 😉 But I found myself there yesterday because I needed to pick up a few things including stuff for a necklace holder.
I’m not too big into ‘real’ jewelry, but I’m addicted to costume necklaces. You can’t beat low price points and a huge style selection.
Lately, though, I’ve been neglecting to wear them. They were tangled up in piles in boxes and on necklace trees.
A few days ago, I bought some more costume necklaces (I can’t be helped.) and decided that I really should organize and display my collection. My reasoning was that it would make me wear them more often if I could see them while I’m getting dressed.
I did a lot of research online and found really unique necklace holders on Etsy. While the prices were reasonable, I felt like I should be able to make a necklace organizer myself for a lot less. Also, since I don’t have much space to work with, I decided to utilize my wall. It was the perfect canvas.
I’m pleased to say that as long as you already own a hammer, you may only need to shell out about $2.99 CAD and about 15 minutes of your time if you follow this DIY Necklace Holder & Organizer Tutorial!
Funny thing: after I finished taking the photos of the necklace holder in action, I remembered that I had 2 necklace trees full of stuff that I forgot to add. So I got to work to put those up. Took some updated photos, but then my ancient camera started acting up again. (Looks like I’m going to have to replace it this week. It’s dying on me more often, and it’s just not reliable. Thank goodness I have a few old photos saved on my computer!)
*~* DIY Necklace Holder & Organizer Tutorial *~*
What I Used:
- Ikea hammer – got this many years ago in a cheap set for around $10 CAD or so
- Buildex Antique Nickel Furniture Nails (30 per pack) – $2.99 CAD
Step 1: Find a Good Spot on a Wall to Hang Your Necklaces
If you plan to hang your necklaces in your bedroom, keep in mind where your window is and if the sunlight will hit your necklaces. Try to avoid hanging your necklaces where it’ll have direct sunlight hitting it because over time, it could fade them and/or make your metal ones hot to touch.
If you’re living at your parents’ place or are renting out your space, make sure you get permission. Not everyone is thrilled with having so many tiny holes in the wall.
Tip: If you don’t want to hammer holes in your wall or you’re not allowed to, you can buy one of those cork boards, hang it, and stick the nails in that.
Step 2: Bring Out All Your Costume Necklaces
See how many long, short, and medium ones you have. (And don’t forget to check your necklace trees for more…Hehe, don’t forget like I did!)
This tutorial is for hanging your cheaper necklaces. For your ‘real’ jewelry like gold, silver, platinum, gemstone, pearls, etc., I would not recommend this display method because it doesn’t protect your precious necklaces. But, for cheap $10 necklaces, I think it serves its purpose well.
Step 3: Decide on Your Design
Before hammering away, think about if you want just one row, two rows, or more rows.
I think it’s best to have 2 rows because you can put your shorter (or statement necklaces on top) and the longer ones on the bottom. But do what you think is best for your collection.
You may need to hold up a few of your necklaces to figure out the positioning of your nails.
You can do what I did and ‘eyeball’ it, or you can bust out your ruler and bubble-level device and accurately mark where each nail will go. That’s probably the best way to do it, but I didn’t mind if the nails weren’t perfectly lined up. As long as they weren’t ridiculously crooked, I was fine with it.
Step 4: Head to the Hardware Store
You’ll need a hammer and some nails for this.
I suggest looking for nails that have a larger head. This will keep your necklaces from slipping and falling off the nail. I also recommend that you try to find ones with a pretty decorative head. The plain ones work just fine, but if you get ones with a little decoration, it gives it more personality.
Here are the ones I used:
You also want the nail length (i.e. the part going into your drywall) to be somewhat long. The nail needs enough length to anchor itself and make it sturdy. Plus, you won’t be hammering them all the way in, so you have to take this into consideration.
Also, make sure that the nails themselves look durable and not flimsy. I know that you’re just hanging up necklaces, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. (I chose these ones because they were furniture nails. I figured they would be strong, plus the thickness of the nail was a good sign.)
Usually you can get a whole pack of 30 or so for a very cheap price.
See how the head of the nail is wider like an umbrella? Try to find something like that. Notice the cute flower-like pattern on the head? Look for something like that to add a special touch.
Tip: Buy 2 packages in the style you’ve chosen. (They’re really cheap, so it’s not really a splurge.) Most likely your collection will grow, and you’ll need more nails. It’s nice to not have to mix designs if possible.
Step 5: Put on Some Fun Music to Get You in the Hammering Mood
I just listened to a bunch of random songs by various artists. But since I was hammering, I made it a point to listen to Wanda Jackson’s version of If I Had a Hammer and Aretha Franklin’s version of If I Had a Hammer. Both were well before my time, but I love them both.
Aretha really stylized the song with her soulful voice, and Wanda Jackson sings it in a fun way (hers is my favourite version I’ve heard of it so far. My dad also loved that song and he’d play lots of tunes by Wanda Jackson.)
Step 6: Take the Plunge & Hammer the First Nail
Leave a little space between the nail head and the wall. You need this room to accommodate your necklace.
Note the space between the wall and the head.
Step 7: Hammer in the Next Nails
See how all of them aren't perfectly straight? That's okay by me. 🙂 The way I arranged the photos makes it kinda looks like a robotic face, doesn't it? 😛
Hehe, can you picture me blasting If I Had a Hammer while hammering and singing? It actually made hammering fun!
“If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning. I’d hammer in the evening – all over this land. I’d hammer out danger. I’d hammer out a warning. I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land!”
Step 8: Hang Your Necklaces
I hung some of my larger statement necklaces on the top and the rest on the below row.
Then, as I mentioned before, I found some additional necklaces and took updated photos. So below, you’ll see a few photos with a different order or more necklaces.
Most of my necklaces are bought from stores. A few I put together myself.
Sometimes I’ll see a neat pendant at the craft store and then I’ll purchase a chain for it (like the bug and elephant necklaces). Or with the cheetah necklace, I’ll buy some string and attach a lobster clasp. (I’ve had that one for years, and recently I saw a similar necklace now sold at Forever 21!) And sometimes I put together my own charm necklaces like the one with the pair of scissors, wedge of cheese, a planet, a fairy, etc.
The statement necklace on the right is my favourite. You could wear a boring solid-coloured shirt and this gives it personality instantly.
Hoot hoot! Can you find two owls?
The robot necklace probably looks familiar to you. I blogged about it in a previous Smorgasbord Sundays post. And you may also remember seeing that purple diamond-shaped necklace. It’s made with Nfu Oh 51 nail polish, which I also blogged about before.
Hope you enjoyed this easy little DIY tutorial. 🙂 The photos may look messy, but in person, it looks so neat and pretty – like a store boutique. I’ll definitely not have any excuse to neglect my necklaces now! 😉
How do you store your necklaces? Did you cringe when you saw how many holes I hammered into the wall? Are you going to wear any jewelry on Hallowe’en?
Thanks for sharing Mary, what a great idea. it looks very neat too! I like how they are not all in a perfect straight line it adds personality. Those nails are very cute too 🙂
Thanks for showing your necklace collection too… you have quite a wide selection. I really love the bow necklace on top too cute!
Amber recently posted: Yes to Blueberries Cleansing Facial Towelettes
Hey Amber!
Glad that you like how the line isn’t perfectly straight. 😀 There are some things that require precision, and I felt like this wasn’t one of them. If you’re building a bookcase, then, YES, that sucker better be straight!
Hehe, I can be such a girly-girl sometimes. When I was browsing the hardware section, I always went away with white ones. Then the flower design caught my eye and I got so excited. I think other women must’ve been shopping there, too, because that was the only ‘pretty’ style they had and they were almost sold out. After I bought mine, there was just one pack left.
I’d love to see your costume-necklace collection, too! I get so excited and inspired when I see what others have. Makes me want to pick up a new necklace. Hehe, want to enable me? 😉
As weird as it may sound, I actually get excited in the power tools section. I had a couple of shop classes in high school and some lab classes in university where we had to do things the “old fashioned way”, ie no power tools, so when I see them, it brings back memories and makes me wish I had them when I was still in those classes. Imagine sanding a metal sample for analysis until you get a mirror-like shine with different grades of sandpaper by hand (major elbow grease and it took eons!) compared to doing it with a power sander.
Yes, I cringed when I saw all the holes on the wall. As someone who spent the summer spackling an entire room (one of the guest rooms had movie posters ceiling to floor, like wallpaper, and when we took them down, we found out thumbtacks were holding all of them up), hammering holes are the last thing I’d want to do to my walls. Maybe I’d opt for hooks on a cork board or something. 😛 Otherwise, I think it’s a novel idea for someone who won’t mind as much. Is this what you were doing yesterday? 😉
I LOVE your necklace collection! I’m in awe, really. And your owl necklaces are sooooooo cute. WANT. Hahaha! 😀 I saw one when I went to Buffalo that looked like the purple owl only it looked like someone went crazy with bedazzler on it with all of those rhinestones so I ended up passing on it. I’m loving the cheetah (leopard?) necklace a lot too, along with the one with the chunky black gems and the HUGE statement necklace on the far right. Very, very cool, Mary! 😀
Carmela recently posted: L’Oreal Owl’s Night
Hey Carmela!
Oh, it’s not weird at all. Everyone likes different things. 😉 (I love watching those renovation shows where they use the tools, but the actual tools themselves just don’t excite me.)
An entire room full of holes sounds like some kind of crazy nightmare! Wow, movie posters as wallpaper? Any cool movies? I had one of the original The Wizard of Oz that I really loved.
Yup, this is what I did yesterday! 🙂 It bothered me that I had these necklaces and didn’t use them enough. Now that they’re visible, it should help. (I’m wearing two now, so I guess it did work so far!)
I’d love to see the owl necklace you have that you mentioned before. 🙂 Does it move? I just love the kind with the hinges that make the owl ‘dance’ when you wear it.
The chunky ‘gem’ one is actually a verrrry reflective silver. But every time I went to photograph it, it would look black. 😛
Haha! I did kind of cringe when I saw the nails in the wall, but the end results looks good! Your necklaces are so prettyyy! If I had more necklaces, I think it would be worth it to have an arrangement like that. But since I’m allergic to random metals… I only wear silver and gold, which I store carefully in a jewelry box. 🙂
Thank you for sharing this with everyone! It’s a wonderful idea!
Jennifer recently posted: Come again
Hey Jennifer!
Yes, it’s definitely best to store your precious, expensive jewelry in a proper box and not on the wall. Just hang these cheapie costume necklaces.
Glad you thought it was a good idea. I’m pretty strapped for cash these days, so an organizer under $5 was perfect for me.
What’s hilarious is my eyes picked up “NECKLACE” and the photo of a giant hammer, and nothing else. AWESOME, GIANT HAMMER NECKLACE!
A couple of comments from A Girl Who Owns Tools :
If you don’t want to put a ton of nail holes in your wall and are afraid cork won’t support heavier pieces, just buy a piece of 1/4″ plywood at your local Lowe’s / Home Depot / etc. They’ll even cut it down to whatever size you want, while you wait!
If you want to get fancy, you can upholster it with a piece of fabric in that size, plus an extra 6″ in length/width. Lay flat and face-down, put board over it. position so it’s aligned correctly, staple gun (or flat metal thumbtack) along top, then along bottom after pulling very snug, then repeat for left and right. Also? If you align it well on the board, a small-patterned fabric will make positioning your hanging tacks REALLY easy!
If you’re having trouble getting your necklace-hanging tacks driven in to the right depth, find a piece of wood/metal/plastic you can use as a shim to stick under their edge while you’re driving them in. A short length of quarter-inch trim board, a few rulers stacked and taped together…anything you won’t mind accidentally whacking with a hammer.
Hey collier!
Oh my gosh – imagine how heavy a giant hammer necklace would be? I think it might sever my head! 😛 And how appropriate that Hallowe’en is almost here.
Thanks for providing my readers with some great advice. I’m sure a lot of people own proper tools and would LOVE to try that out! 🙂 Unfortunately, I’m on a shoestring budget, don’t have many tools, and really needed to do this for under $5. When my necklace collection expands and when my finances get cushier (hopefully soon!), I’m going to try this out for sure. You can make the board look really pretty if you cover it with fabric. I’m already picturing the possibilities! 🙂
Great job. Something I’ve done is to use the nice wooden over the door towel racks They come in all different styles( wood, metal, etc). U can get up to twelve hooks on some. Just make sure they have a bended shape to hooks so they don’t sit on top of each other. Looks good But u need a few doors first. I’ve got them on two closet doors and back of main bedroom door This way I see necklaces first befor I open for clothes. Decide on jewelry , then outfit. Works for me and pretty cheap too. Home sense has an awesome selection and good price range. Hope this may give someone another idea. Kelly
Hey Kelly!
Great idea. 🙂 I also considered getting one of those over-the-door racks. They have some cute metal ones with birds from Umbra that are adorable! 🙂 The basic nails ended up winning, though, just because I could make more “hooks”. But the over-the-door rack is definitely great for those who don’t want holes in their walls. 😀
When You first posted this… it was more than I could handle on my nightly read… My palms got sweaty, and I drooled profusely. If there is one thing I love as much/equal to nail polish it is jewelry and this post was ‘orgasmic’ lol!!!!
I know the purpose was the do-it-yourself tutorial (brilliant by the way)… but I literally viewed this page oh 10+ times now just to gawk at your jewelry collection.
You have impeccable taste! I should hire you as my fashion jewelry consultant… I’ll pay you in polish? LOL
Okay… I’m still drooling… I may need help… a cold shower might do…
I have a similar setup with a belt hanger… it comes with hooks on a metal bracket 😉
Marta recently posted: Hello Holo NfuOh
Hey Marta!
Haha, payment in polish sounds like a fantastic idea! 😉 Being a fashion jewelry consultant or a personal shopper would be incredible since I love putting together looks for others more than I do for myself. For some reason, I find it much easier.
A belt hanger sounds like a great idea – it never even crossed my mind. And you don’t even need to hammer any holes in the wall with that – just hang it up in the closet. Smart! I’m going to look for one of those. It might be useful to also hang things like scarves without taking up a lot of space.
I use the french memo boards mounted on the wall. I use straight pens with the pretty round heads to hang things on the memo boards. I chose plain light colored boards so the jewelry is the eye-candy. Angle the straightpen downward so it holds more weight. A straight pen will hold much more weight than you’d think. I use them whenever possible to avoid holes. Back in the day when wicker was wall art, I hung mine with straightpens.
Hey J Sly!
Great idea to use a beautiful French memo board and avoid putting holes in your walls. 😉
I love your white daisy necklace! Where did you get it? Plus thanks for the great idea on how to organize my collection of necklaces.
Hey Rene!
Thanks so much! I really like the statement necklace, too. You can literally wear it over a plain t-shirt of turtleneck, and it spices up the outfit.
I bought it a few years ago from Forever 21. That’s one of my favourite places to purchase costume necklaces from – they’re always affordable and trendy. And even their classic pieces excite me because I don’t have to invest a lot to get the look I want.
I’ve done something similar, but since I rent and don’t want to have to deal with a gazillion holes in the wall when I move, I use old picture frames, cardboard, fabric, and quilting pins. You cut a pieced of cardboard to fit like a picture inside the frame, cover it with whatever fabric you like, put it into the frame, hang the frame on the wall and then hang the necklaces on the fabric covered cardboard with colored quilting pins. Hanging the frame only leaves one hole in the wall 🙂
Hey Tricia!
When I move to my new place, I’m also going to do what you mentioned – use a board of sorts and then put the holes in those instead. Plus then, you can move the board anywhere in the room. Once you hammer holes in the wall, the placement is fixed.
Lovely! I think I’ll use a board for backing, so it’s moveable when the room is rearranged; but this may be jut what I’m looking for. I’ve been looking at DIY necklace holders that use knobs, and while I think it might be a little easier to get the necklaces on and off, this stores many more in the same space and costs a lot less.
Another thing I’ve done in the past is put small hooks on the side of my dresser or a bookcase, usually temporary Command hooks. This could be a lovely permanent solution. Or a row along the top (and bottom) of a picture frame. Kudos to you for figuring out the furniture nails!
Hey Reb Deb!
That’s a smart idea, and it also means you won’t have tons of little holes in your wall! 🙂
Good idea, also, on adding hooks to the side of a dresser or bookshelf to save space, but also get more storage. Clever!