Craft Organization - Thrift Store to Project Supply Holder

     This metal piece at a Salvation Army store "leapt" out at me.  I've never seen anything like it so I didn't know what it's missing "base" was supposed to be or look like.  I had to use my very limited imagination to make it useful.

     I decided to turn it into something to hold supplies, similar to a small Clip-It-Up.  I searched for some clip ideas.

     At IKEA, I found these shower / curtain hooks.

     I could also use the paperclip looped thru' a clothespin idea. . . I found 3 sizes, all reasonably priced at Dollar Tree and at Walmart.

     Depending on what I'm hanging, I could also go with some free options by using old pencil pouches and various packaging from socks, curtains, or plastic clam shells that have the store display punch cut out. . .

     Now, I needed a "base."  For height, I used a wooden dowel in a Coke bottle.  To prevent it from tipping, the bottle is filled with aquarium pebbles and placed in an oval tin that can also be used for tool storage.  The gravel keeps the dowel from rocking around as the rose is spun, helps tools stand up, and makes it so I don't have to figure out how to fasten the bottle to the tin.

     I know this is weird. . .but it works!  It is more limiting than a Clip-It-Up, but anything with a hole or hook should hang well.

     Hope you're doing well and hope I was able to encourage or motivate you to try something, no matter how different it is.

(On with the yammer. . .)

     A couple of years ago, I found a metal rose with hooks while looking around a thrift store.  It reminded me of a tie rack, but a tie rack with a rose?  Maybe something for necklaces? Unfortunately, there wasn't a box or anything showing what it looked like - but, I was intrigued.  It was only a few dollars, so it came home with me.  Now, I had to tackle how I was supposed to stand it up.   I thought I could figure out how to mount it on a metal rod, but they weren't as easy to come by nor as cheap as I thought they would be.  After a while, I finally realized I could try a wooden dowel & it worked.  I painted it white to match things in my craft corner.  I now had to figure out how to keep it stable.

     On one of my date lunches with hubs, we had 2 bottles of Coke.  I was thinking about how I could fix the wobbly dowel situation when I noticed the bottle was tall and thin.   I could try it - after all, people use Coke products for decor and it could kinda be an homage to my aunt who just retired from working for Coke.  Also, the hanging supplies would conceal some, if not most of it anyway.  If I didn't like it, I could try to remove the painted label or cover it.

     Next issue, I had to weigh the bottle down so the whole thing didn't tilt over.  I first thought of using something metal - bearings or something to match the rose, but finding something small enough to fit inside the bottle proved difficult and the only online option I found was much more expensive than I'd care to spend, especially on something this odd and something I wasn't sure of.  If I couldn't do anything silver/metal color, I should try something white. . . white, cheap, and easy to find. . .aquarium pebbles!  I needed something else because it's tall enough that pebbles aren't sufficient to keep the bottle from tipping over.

     I had an oval metal tin I wasn't using.  It could provide extra storage space for scissors, my paper piercer, or whatever tools I'd need and want on hand.  I wasn't in love with the paint on the tin, so I sanded it.  I almost painted it white, but I have a few metal touches in the corner already; plus, it'd match the rose (and I wouldn't have to wonder if I should paint the leaves green and the petals blue? purple? dark pink?, etc., etc.). . .

     I put the bottle in the tin, but realized something was needed so the bottle wouldn't move around.  Hubs even asked me how I was going to attach the two pieces - I started trying to figure out what would really fix the glass to the metal.  Bolting the two together was brought up. but I didn't want to try drilling into the glass and wanted an option that wouldn't damage the tin in case I didn't like this project.  The gravel helps for another reason - it helps keep smaller supplies like erasers and tape runners up and be seen better.

     I've been saving some packaging to hang things from the hooks - it's not needed for everything, but there are supplies that don't have holes or need "help" to hang better or stay together (like buttons or clips).  It's also taking up some time to figure out what else I can hang and how I can do it.

     If you're a "pinner," you can check me out at https://www.pinterest.com/daylightdesigns/