DIY – colorful statement necklace

I’m a huge DIY fan and I love making things for myself for a fraction of what they would cost if I were to buy them. I know many of you see things in magazines, online or on the runway and you get depressed because you think you could never afford them but, believe me, there are always creative ways to get a similar result for pennies or even using stuff you already have. They usually just need a little upgrade.

I took the photos for this tutorial a while ago but I just got around editing them and writing the text. By popular demand, today I’m showing you a step by step photo tutorial for a colorful rhinestone necklace. It’s really easy to make and the result it's very cool.

You will need: some old costume jewelry (rhinestone necklaces to be more precise), nail polish or sharpies (permanent markers), silver wire (optional) and cotton swabs.

Azi va arat cum sa transformati niste coliere vechi intr-un colier statment colorat de care nu o sa va mai puteti dezlipi. Pasii sunt simplu de urmat si rezultatul este spectaculos. Ideea mi-a venit cand am descoperit doua coliere cu cristale in cutia mea de bijuterii pe care nu le purtasem niciodata pentru ca erau prea "de nunta" si nu se potriveau cu mai nimic. Ale mele erau noi, dar partea buna este ca pot sa fie si intr-o stare mai proasta, cu cristale innegrite, orice gasiti abandonat prin casa poate fi folosit si o sa arate la fel de bine la final.

Iata de ce aveti nevoie pentru acest proiect: cateva coliere cu cristale, lac de unghii in diferite nuante, sarma argintie si betisoare pentru urechi.

So I had these two rhinestone necklaces that were just laying around never worn before mainly because I found them too bridal for my outfits. They were also too small by themselves.

Acestea sunt cele doua coliere de care va povesteam (inainte de transformare) - destul de ok, dar genul pe care nu le purtam niciodata si ramaneau parasite in cutie de fiecare data.

I have way too many bottles of nail polish so it was high time to use them for more than just my nails.  Obviously the ones pictured are just a small percent of my collection (I didn't want to scare you:)))).

The first thing I did was to mash the two necklaces together and make a bigger one out of them. You might need some silver wire to connect them and effortlessly make them look like a brand new necklace!

Primul lucru pe care l-am facut a fost sa unesc cele doua coliere mai mici ca sa obtin unul mare. In cazul acesta s-au potrivit atat de bine ca forma incat nu a fost nevoie decat sa unesc lanturile, dar pentru alte forme dau daca vreti sa conectati mai multe coliere, s-ar putea sa aveti nevoie de sarma argintie subtire !

The next step is to decide the color scheme. I initially tried using permanent markers to color the rhinestones but they weren't pigmented enough to get the shades I wanted so I went for nail polish instead and it worked great. 

Pasul urmator este sa decideti ce combinatie de culori vreti sa folositi pentru a vopsi cristalele. Intial am vrut sa utilizez markere, dar pigmentul nu era suficient de puternic si efectul nu era mat asa cum imi doream asa ca am decis ca-i mai bine sa folosesc oja.

Choosing the perfect color mix it's actually the hardest part - I tried different combinations on a white piece of paper before settling on a blend of green, mint, blue and yellow.

Alegerea combinatiei de culori pe care urmeaza sa o folositi este partea cea mai grea: eu m-am tot gandit si razgandit pana sa ma opresc la un amestec de nuante de verde, albastru si galben cu accente mint. Incercati pe o coala de hartie inainte: cu puncte de oja de diferite culori alaturate ca sa vedeti cum merg impreuna.

The next step is to patiently start coloring the rhinestones - make sure and not load the brush with too much varnish! If you happen to apply too much nail polish on one of the rhinestones use a cotton swab to clear away the excess. I used the brushes from each nail polish bottle - no need for a separate paint brush. Another tip is to start from the top of the necklace and move down towards the bottom. I would also recommend color variation: use just a few colors but make sure there's enough contrast to make things interesting!

Odata ce ai ales culorile, urmatorul pas este coloratul cristalelor cu oja. Cel mai bine este sa incepi de sus in jos ca sa nu fie nevoie sa ai mereu grija sa nu strici/atingi ce ai vopsit deja. Scutura pensula inainte sa vopsesti un cristal, dar daca folosesti prea mult din greseala, nu te panica si indeparteaza excesul cu un betisor pentru urechi. Am folosit pensula fiecarei sticlute de oja - deci nu este nevoie de pensula separata. Secretul este sa gasesti o armonie intre culori si sa adaugi si putin contrast ca  rezultatul sa fie cat mai interesant.

 Ce ziceti? Va place ce a iesit? Are cineva de gand sa puna in aplicare acest tutorial? Imi puteti scrie daca doriti sa fac un tutorial pe o anumita tema si promit sa va fac pe plac daca pot!

What do you think? Planning to do this project yourself? If so I'd love to see photos with the end result! Let me know if you have any special requests for tutorial/DIY projects!

 

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