Love this idea. I got few beautiful saucers that I can use for this. Even for my daughter's jewelry!

Thank you for sharing.

www.twopinkcanaries.com

I have a 24-piece set of Limoge bouillon cups and saucers from my great grandmother. I have used them for hot chocolate at parties but I've been wondering what else to use them for. Too bad I don't really wear or own jewelery. I love this idea.

Too funny. I just blogged about this yesterday. For serious.

http://swordandstein.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-i-wore-sunday-one-where-i-use-self.html

I store all of my jewelry in little air-tight plastic bags because it keeps the sterling from tarnishing, my necklaces from tangling, and my earrings paired...plus, when I go on a trip or pack up my stuff to go to the gym (which hasn't been happening enough lately) it's super easy. I go one step further by using a organizer for office goods, that has 4 drawers, and labeling each drawer to hold a different kind of jewelry...makes finding accesories super easy and efficient, but unfortunatley not that pretty...which is ok. I design and make jewelry, so I have ALOT of jewelry...so sometimes efficiency trumps beauty in the organization department.

I second @Princess Tup Tup's warning about tarnish. If you store silver or gold in any of these methods, you'll wind up with very dirty-looking jewelry in weeks that is very difficult to clean.

Silver and gold pieces should be stored in more confined areas (e.g. zipped fabric pouches, Ziplock bags, jewelry boxes, etc.) ideally with a strip of anti-tarnish paper (you can buy it on Amazon).

(If you do happen to wind up with tarnished jewelry, I've found the simplest, most eco-friendly way to clean it is to brush it vigorously with whitening toothpaste and a toothbrush. It takes some brushing, but the tarnish comes off. Then you can rinse it in water and store it properly!)

You can also use blackboard chalk to help prevent silver tarnish. I throw a couple of broken pieces into the ziplock baggie with the jewelry.

What sad, puny little jewelry collections! ;^)

I have over 200 pairs of earrings, alone... never work for me! (Yes, I wear them!)

I agree with the post regarding sterling silver..that is all I wear. Aside from the necklaces, I store all my jewlery in plastic containers. Each container have smaller sections where I store earrings, rings and necklaces that can be wound. Necklaces made on wire are stored in jewelry rolls I made.
White toothpaste (not gel) will clean your silver in a pinch but toothpaste is an abrasive and will scratch your silver. Best to keep a polishing cloth where you store your jewlery. Gold can also get tarnished if not worn for a while.

OH this is so much more beautiful than the egg cartons and ice trays I've been using!

...I wish I were kidding....

Good point, @LyonStill... I've only ever used the toothpaste trick on silver and gold necklace chains. A polishing cloth would be much better for pendants, pins... anything with a larger surface area. But I would think the cloth would be a pain when it comes to tiny chain... I'll stick with the toothpaste and brush for that.

OK, I have to chime in here. I studied jewelry design in college for a bit -- long time ago. Gold does not tarnish. It's partly what makes gold so special and valuable. Ever see a TV special about sunken treasure? Gold looks just fine hundreds of years underwater. It can collect oil from your skin, and dust, so it can need cleaning, but that's not tarnish. Silver can totally corrode away...

Tarnish is oxidation. Fine silver tarnishes less than alloys like sterling which contain other metals (including copper) which tarnish (oxidize) even more.

Sunshine cloth is one polishing cloth you can use on silver. (You can fold a piece around a chain and gently pull the chain through the cloth, pinching with your finger and thumb...)

But in a dry environment, I have never had any of my silver tarnish even when hung on hooks on the wall, out in the open. (Some of my brass pieces need some buffing...) Especially if the silver is buffed to a high shine and sometimes given a tiny bit of jeweler's wax...

Some kinds of plastic off gas, and that can cause tarnishing as well.

And if you WANT tarnish, to accent the crevices of a design or something, sulfur does the trick. You can dissolve some heads of kitchen matches in a little water and apply with a paint brush. "Liver of sulfur" is what jewelers use (among other patinas), but the matches get the job done in small areas.

Agree, gold doesn't tarnish unless it's not real karat gold.

By experience...my wedding band (divorced) sat in my jewlery box for about 10 years and it tarnished...not black but copper like color. It did polish off but what would you call that if not tarnished? Just curious, not being combative..

This idea would work for festive collections of costume jewelry - plastic beads and glass baubles - and I have PILES of that! I also tend to hoard cute, small glass bowls... ; )

great ideas! i'm going to try the candy/cake stand.

in the final stages of painting my walls and restyling my bedroom and sis thought it would be fun to add texture and whimsy http://goo.gl/C5tGo.

Sherry, how do you store your 200 pairs of earrings tarnish-free?

I liked the idea of small plastic boxes to keep air out (like a M-F pill box maybe?) but I think you are saying plastic can cause tarnish as well?

Love the little miss-matched bowls and saucers. Very cute, and a total help to the one jewelry-tree version I have now!