Mason Jar Hanging Shelf

My office is quickly running out of space, especially since a new shipment of supplies has taken over the closet. I needed a way to store more Whisker Works props on the walls, so I could free up shelf and desk space. After browsing Pinterest, I was inspired to create this pretty convenient wall shelf out of mason jars. It was easier than I expected, so I plan on making several more!

Total cost: $20
Total time: 2 hours

Materials
– Two 1×6″ boards, 24″ long
– Spray paint
– 30″ of chain
– 6 screw hooks
– 8 band clamps
– 8 mason jars
– 8 wood screws

Instructions
If you would rather wall-mount your shelves instead of hanging them, you can skip steps 2-5 as you won’t need chain or hooks.

1. Spray paint your boards. This may require sanding edges first, depending on their condition.

2. Attach the hooks to your boards. It’s easier if you drill a pilot hole first. One board will get a hook on the top and the bottom. The other board only gets hooks on one side. Position the hooks about 2″ from the edges of the boards.

3. Attach 8″ of chain on either side of the boards, then use a pliers to close the hooks.

4. Attach the remaining 14″ of chain to the top of your board and close the hooks.

5. Measure and mark holes for where you’ll affix the band clamps, starting 3″ from the edges of your boards, then screw the band clamps into place. This is easier said than done, as it first requires drilling a hole through the band clamp.

6. Slip the mason jars inside of the clamps, then tighten with a screw driver.

7. Hang it up!

Your mason jar hanging shelf has all sorts of practical uses. Besides holding many mustaches on sticks, you can use them for utensils in the kitchen, as an indoor garden, for craft storage, as vases, etc. There are many possibilities!

Enter the Mustache

Parties didn’t always have silly mustaches to liven them up — but then again, everything has to start somewhere. Take the mustache itself. The first evidence of anyone wearing one, real or otherwise, dates back to the 4th century B.C., well before the birth of Whisker Works.

The first recorded portrait of a man with a mustache appears on a carpet from 300 B.C., now housed in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Unintentionally inspiring Tom Selleck, Alex Trebek and countless polka-dot-winged equestrians in the process of looking fabulous.

A mustache first was photographed in 1826 in Paris, France, using a camera made primarily out of wood! Almost 100 years later, a Russian-born New Yorker created the first modern photo booth in 1925. The invention earned him $1 million.

Catapulting the artificial mustache into the mainstream, world-renown British rock band The Beatles gave away cardboard mustaches with their album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” released in 1967. As a side note, though all four Beatles eventually grew mustaches, it started with Paul McCartney, who only grew one to hide a chipped tooth.

Perhaps inspired by the Beatles record, the mustache-on-a-stick concept gained wide appeal after being featured on The Martha Stewart Show in October 2008. Made for that program of dryer lint and fabric glue, they had a hairy realism about them. I tried to make some myself, but only made a big, gross mess.

One year later, I gave the idea another shot — this time using modeling clay. They were a hit at my own wedding, delighting guests who posed for dozens of silly photographs using disposable cameras. Months later, Whisker Works was born. It’s been my full-time job ever since, now with plastic as my medium. My name is Amber and this is my blog. Welcome. 🙂