10 Creative Ways to Organize Your Jewelry

Dress forms -- typically used by seamstresses and fashion designers -- offer a stylish way to display your chains and chokers. Drape necklaces around the neck and shoulders, and add a belt around your form's waist for smaller items. Insert a hook into one of the belt's holes or over the top of the belt itself, add earrings and bracelets, rinse and repeat.

Picture frames and shadow boxes are another great way to both organize and display your jewelry collection. Remove the glass and backing of the frame, add a little paint if desired, and attach mesh or rows of ribbon or lace (and small hooks if you're displaying more than earrings). Hang the frame on the wall, add jewelry, and step back to admire your work.

For a more industrial look, consider displaying your jewels on corkboard. To spice things up, consider covering the cork with burlap or a fabric of your choice. Use T-pins or decorative pushpins to hang necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

For the purists, buy or craft a jewelry box or jewelry tree to set atop a dresser or bureau. Have more jewels than one box can hold? Add a box with a tree alongside, or buy a few trees in different sizes for a more decorative -- and functional -- display.

Vintage teacups and saucers make excellent jewelry organizers. Store necklaces, bracelets and rings on saucers or inside the teacups themselves. Earrings can be dangled over the cups' rims. Hit up your local antique store or flea market and mix and match patterns to achieve a shabby chic look.

With its many holes, pegboard makes a great jewelry organizer. Buy a piece of pegboard in whatever size you choose at your local hardware store. Paint it and add standard or decorative hooks in a random pattern across the board. Use the hooks to display necklaces, rings and bracelets, and use the board's individual holes for earrings.

For a simple yet stylish way to organize and display your jewelry, consider this DIY project. Buy some wooden blocks (any size) from your local hardware store or lumberyard. Cover the blocks with fabric in varied but coordinating designs. Drill evenly spaced holes along the bottom and screw in small hooks. Drill a final hole in the top of the block and insert an eyehook to aid in mounting. Hang your blocks on the wall in a pleasing pattern and voilà -- instant wall art and jewelry display.

Have more bracelets than a SillyBandz® obsessed tween? Make use of your old glass bottles or pick some up at an antique shop or flea market. Display the bottles on any surface and start stacking up your bracelets.

Knobs and hooks come in all flavors -- from the plain and simple set sold at your local hardware store to the ornate-and-vibrant variety found at fashion boutiques and antique shops. Use any material you like (salvaged wood is a popular choice), add hooks and knobs, and mount. As an alternative, hang a standard towel rack and adorn it with fashionable shower hooks.

Any kind of box, tray or drawer will do, but vintage typeset drawers, tackle boxes and wooden utensil trays make great choices. For a finished look, consider painting your box or tray and using wallpaper samples or scrapbooking paper to line the sections. Use it on top of a dresser or hang it on the wall. For those mounted on the wall, add decorative hooks, knobs or loops of ribbon with a button or snap to hang your trinkets from.

Katherine West Slevin is a public health consultant and freelance writer. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter.