DIY Wood Bead Necklace

I bought a bunch of maternity tees and tanks for my growing belly and looked forward to continuing the trend of chunky necklaces with these basic tops. I, of course, wanted to see if I could make my own!

I saw One Artsy Mama’s multicolored statement necklace and used it for inspiration for my first necklace design. After a trip to Michaels, I realized how expensive it would be to buy the different colored beads so I went with a different approach – painted wooden beads!

Supplies:

• Wooden Beads (bought in the wood crafts aisle for a whopping $1.50)
• Acrylic Paints (on sale 5 for $2)
• Beading Wire (already in my stash)
• Crimp Beads (already in my stash)
• Pearls (already in my stash)
• Silver chain (already in my stash)
• Jewelry Tools

First, I went ahead and painted my beads with two coats of the acrylic paint and let them dry.

Next, I secured the beading wire to the silver chain. First, thread on a crimp bead and thread through the end of the silver chain.

Thread the wire back through the crimp bead and use pliers to squeeze the bead closed to secure. This creates a closed loop on the end, connecting the beading wire to the silver chain. Hide the end of the beading wire inside the first pearl, which I chose to be a pearl.

Thread on the painted wooden beads and alternate with pearls. Repeat the threaded action with the crimp bead to secure the wire to the other end of the chain.

Remember to tuck the loose end through the beads to hide it. The necklace is now complete and ready to be paired with some basic tees or tanks!

Here’s a somewhat blurry picture of me wearing the necklace with my basic black Old Navy maternity tee on my 21 week belly recently!

Sharing with:

One Artsy Mama, Happy Hour Projects, So You Think You’re Crafty, Mad in Crafts, Craft Gawker, Creations By Kara

Update:

See another version of this necklace with blue beads, made for my mom for Mother’s Day a few weeks later!