Trash to Treasure Using Old Plaques

Fellow artist, Sayo Granich-Lee, found some old discarded plaques and wants to turn them into display pieces for her jewelry. In an article entitled "New Displays" on her blog she solicits ideas from her readers. Her article got my creative mind to whirling and believing that the more ideas the merrier, I thought I'd try to direct a few creative geniuses her way.

I'm thinking she should go ahead with her plan to strip and refinish the plaques. I'd do it in a natural wood finish (either light, medium or dark). I would then mount a hand on one, a pair of ears on another, and maybe a neck (with or without a manikin style head) on yet another turning them into 3D displays similar to taxidermy mountings. The protruding forms could be made of styrofoam, paper-mâché, clay, or other easily sculpted material and then covered in a black flocking giving them a velvety felt like finish. Plaques could then be hung on a wall or other vertical surface and rings could be displayed on the fingers of the hand, earrings could dangle from holes in the ears, and a necklace could be draped around the neck.

The remaining plaques could be topped with a raised black velvet pad and placed flat on a table or shelf (like a plate or tray) and Sayo's jewelry pieces could be laid on top. Or maybe...

Oh, Oh, Oh, my brain is racing away with me. Another option would be to affix a cork pad to front of the refinished plaques and a frame brace on the back. Pins could hole the jewelry in place and the plaques could be displayed angled slightly back on a table or shelf. Or she could prop them up on an angle for a more sophisticated look.

Enough of my ideas. If you enjoy transforming trash into treasure as much as I do, why don't you head over to the article on her blog, let your imagination run wild and leave your ideas in her comment section. I know she would appreciate your creative insights as she takes these ordinary plaques and turns them into an extraordinary display for her artwork.