Display Collections/ Shelf Idea

Hi there,  Have you got a wonderful collection of something that is safely packed away in a box somewhere?  Why not show it off with this very easy and inexpensive way to display an important collection.  This shelf was created to display a young girl's fossil and unique rock collection in her room.  We took old corbels and hung them on the brick wall, then took vintage shelving which originally looked like 70's style wood paneled shelving.  It was a yard sale find (Lot purchased around $1 a piece)  they are quite long, but we doubled them up to give a more impressive look against the corbels.  The corbels were purchased at an auction for about $12.50 per pair.  We glued the shelves together 2 per set.  We painted them charcoal grey, then allowed to dry completely.  Next, we painted two coats of a creamy white. We let those coats dry completely, then sanded until distressed to match the corbels.  Once the shelving was hung and sturdy, we assembled a nice assortment of glass jars, some with lids, some without.  We set up empty rough hewn wood frames purchased for around $5 a piece, and hung some arrowheads with fishing line inside the frames.  Inside the glass jars, we poured enough colored sand in the bottom to hold the fossils upright.  We typed up labels and descriptions of each of the fossils and inserted into each jar. This room has high ceilings and can easily support the size of this application.  If you have standard ceilings, you could modify the size and get the same look.  This entire look costs around $150.00 including all the glass jars and frames.  Chances are you already have some of these items like old frames, and assorted glass jars.  We actually used sand the little girl had saved from a trip out west.  These old corbels are usually found at architectural salvage stores if you don't have time to go auctioning.  I love creating storage and display this way, because it takes up no floor space:)  I think any time you can go vertically to create space, it is like finding money in old jeans...  It is a happy happy win win... 

Signing off for now...  
Until we meet again...
JD Higgins