Earring Project Complete...Finally!

I had an idea for a little easy craft project. I may or may not LOVE earrings. They always fit and as Truvy says "Our ability to accessorize is what separates us from the animals." They really needed to be more organized.

My Mom was in town and I presented my plan and she was on board. We went to Goodwill and got the mismatched 8×10 frames. Then to Lowe's for screws, hinges, staples, staple gun, and a little board. Next, burlap and a little hacksaw from Wal-mart and we were all set. For this easy project. I was thinking a little paint, put some hinges and done. I even planned a how-to blog about this super easy do-it-yourself project.Yep, easy peasy.

To do this project I needed:

3 weeks.
3 trips to the hardware store.
Tears.
Cussin'
Prayers.
Advice.

Here are the pictures that explain the basics of the project.




Less than $5 to purchase these frames. There was debate on leaving them like this, but turquoise "is my signature color" (2 Steel Magnolias references in 1 blog - Whoop!)

 

The original earring organization plan was ice trays. They worked and they were inexpensive, but I outgrew them.

These tiny screws almost screwed up the whole project....



I cut this board with my new "handy dandy" saw. (That sure was a Ronnal Bruton thing to say if I ever heard one!)

Staples & Hinges Part 2. Bigger is better on the hinges. The staples were color coded, but I didn't notice until I'd bought and brought home the wrong ones. I stretched the burlap across and stapled it to the back of the frames, then hinged the frame to the pieces of board.





Almost done! (Can I get a hallelujah?)



Final look! Love it! The frames swing out so I can put the earring backs on the ones that need them.

Up close...

This is what I gained/learned from this project:

1. Cool earring storage...obvi
2. It's okay to take a break. It's okay to give myself a break. Especially right now when I am struggling with focus and frustration.
3. I still need to finish. Even when I'm frustrated. Even when I am overwhelmed. I have to press on.
4. I should trust God, not my expectations. I thought this would be easy. I thought my life would be different. God has a plan and my expectations are really just an attempt at control.
5. There is hope in loss. I have some missing earrings, but I have hope they're out there somewhere. Same with my heart...some of it is missing, but there is still hope.