Framed Brooch Display

How often do you wear brooches?  If you’re a vintage lover like me then you almost certainly have one or two in your collection.  But how often do they actually see the light of day?

I realised back when Dorothy was a baby that I hadn’t even looked at my brooches in about a year, let alone worn any of them.  The main reason (apart from the fact that Dorothy would likely rip them off as soon as look at them) was that I couldn’t see them.

I have some beautiful pieces.  A blue glass brooch that Beth bought me with her own money when she was a little girl – a naive little religious pin that belonged to my Great Grandmother – a delicate gold tone leaf, a gift from an old lady who is no longer with us.

Instead of having them on display, I stored my brooches and pins in a little China bowl on my dressing table.  So I suppose I just ‘forgot’ they were there.

In an effort to make more use of my vintage treasures and reclaim my sense of style decided to make a display for them and here it is.

You Will Need

*A multi window frame.  I bought mine pre-loved but this one is similar

Some thin wadding

Duck tape

Pencil

Fabric

Spray paint – I used gold

Method

  • Remove the glass from the frame and spray with your chosen colour
  • Replace the back board and draw around the edges of of each picture window

  • Roughly cut some wadding to match each space and stick in place with duct tape (fold the duck tape over to make it double sided)

  • Lay the fabric over the board and secure in place with more duct tape
  • Replace the frame and pin your brooches to your finished display

You can chose the spray paint, frame style and fabric to match whatever kind of decor you have in your bedroom.

What do you think?

Love Rachel ❤️

18 comments

  1. I have been looking for ideas to show my collections of vintage pins . I have over 2000 I have collected since high school when my mother sold AVON .. I want to give some to each of my female family members . This is nice because I have collected other vintage item as well. I could line back with hankie, old post cards .. old small change purse would fit in a spot . Love this idea thanks for sharing

  2. What a great 💡 idea!!! Looking for frames etc I can group.!!! Thank you for sharing deb

  3. Lovely idea, but I would prefer to not have to dust it! Maybe a glassed-in shadow box but still using the pretty gold frame inside? I’ve done something similar with some of the exquisite crochet work my mom and grandma made.

  4. Vintage jewelry is so beautiful but I have often found collecting it to be more satisfying than wearing it. It often does not go with my current clothing styles very well, so it sits in my drawers. I love this idea for display as I can look at my beautiful collection often.

    1. Now I’m on the hunt for frames. Thank you so much for the idea. I will do the same but not just brooches but all kinds of vintage jewelry… Then I’ll sell the pieces in my booth at the Red Barn Antique Mall.

  5. Keeping them dusted was my initial reaction as well. Regardless, I love the idea. I believe a feather duster would do the truck!

  6. Thank you for sharing!
    I collect brooches and I’ve never thought of doing this.
    What a beautiful idea.
    Again, THANK YOU!

  7. I have a huge brooch collection. I have some listed on line for sale. Love what
    You did with yours. I’m going shopping , an will try your ideas😍

  8. Fabulous idea. I found this post last night and immediately drove to savers in the morning. I went to the frame section and bought the exact frame for $4 australian. I’m not joking – it’s identical. I’m just giving it a coat of matte white spray paint to hide the dings that it had and I might upload a photo onto Pinterest when I’m done. But no joke it’s the same exact frame 😂

  9. Like some of the other folks, I have probably at least a thousand brooches plus other vintage and antique jewelry as well. And like at least one other person, I would really love to be able to keep the glass on the frame to help keep the whole thing clean. I’m going to see if I have enough pieces that are flat enough that they will fit with the glass still being in use. Otherwise, it will really need to be more of a shadow box I suppose, than a picture frame. At this point I’m the only one who can see my collection so it would be so nice to have at least some of the pieces out where they can be appreciated. My daughter says when I’m gone and she inherits all of this, she’s going to have to open a jewelry museum, an idea that I really love!!

  10. Also, high pressure air canister spray, with thin straw attachment, used for cleaning keyboards works well for dusting tough things like these. I’m going to do this project with an awesome old mirror frame I have sitting around. Thank you!

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