Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda, Resolved!

Ever have one of those "coulda, shoulda, woulda" moments?  You know, a minor, nagging regret over something you might have done but, for one reason or another, it just didn't happen?

For a long time, I've thought I'd love to add a printer's tray to my display.   Used to be that I'd see them all the time when I went to antique places, but I couldn't figure out how to fit them into my display style, especially the big trays I was seeing.  When I finally figured out a way to make them work in my display setup, for the life of me I couldn't find any.  Despite haunting the antique malls where I'd seen them in the past, there just weren't any for sale.

Coulda bought them when I found them - they weren't outrageously expensive when I saw them.  Shoulda bought them, because, hey, there they were, begging to go home with me.  Woulda bought them if I'd just trusted that the inspiration for how to use them would come to me.

My dilemma was resolved this past weekend.  Look what came home with me!


It's 10 1/2" x 17".  My vision is that rings will go in the smallest spaces, and pendants or pins will go it the others.

But first, I have to get it cleaned up a little bit (any suggestions other than Endust and lots of dust rags?  Maybe Murphy's Oil Soap?) and get some hooks put in....

The hunt may continue for more trays, but at least I've bagged my first one!

4 comments:

Therese's Treasures said...

Bobbie,
Been there done that and kick myself in the butt for letting the opportunity pass by. Glad you were able to find at least one tray and it is a nice looking one too. Have you thought about getting a can of compressed air to spray out the little compartments? Then use the Murphy's wood soap and buff it with mineral oil.
Therese

Sandra said...

Hahah, doesn't that sound familiar? I've been hunting for one of these ever since I saw them being used as a jewelry display (hung on the wall and tiny hooks drilled in to hang earrings and the like) on Etsy. To make matters worse ... I HAD one, a very big one ... Never used it for anything, and then it got "lost" (just like my jewelry box and other things) when I last moved. Well, if you got lucky finding one, there's still hope for me~! =D

As for cleaning it up, I've got a nozzle attachment for my vacuum that works well for stuff like this (for me at least) - it's got a very narrow tip with a brush attached, so you can scrub the dust lose and vacuum it up in one go.

KJ said...

Glad you found what you were looking for. Write a second post with a picture including jewelry and let us know how you cleaned it.

Amy F said...

Those are great! can't wait to see what you make with it!