d.i.y. painted wood bead necklace.

You know what spring means?  It means not having to wear a million layers of clothing!  Which  means I can finally wear necklaces without having them getting completely tangled up in knit scarves and I no longer have to choose between being warm and wearing pretty things!

In anticipation of this warmer weather (it snowed yesterday in Winnipeg guys!) I have been in a definite necklace making mood.  I love wooden beads because you can make so many pretty things out of them, and all you need is paint - and if you're me, glitter!

I wanted something that was kind of neutral, but still fun, I've been really into grays and gold lately.  I love how it turned out, and of course the little bit of glitter makes it even better!

What you need:
_wooden beads in whatever size you like.
_ribbon
_a little bit of chain (optional - if you use it you also need pliers.)
_paint
_clear coat spray paint
_glitter and white glue (optional)

what you do:
_1: paint all of your beads. I find it easiest to use a small brush and paint one half  of all the beads and then go back and paint the other half.  I did two coats.
_2: if you feel like adding some sparkle this is your chance.  I mixed two shades of Martha Stewart glitter together (yellow barite + Florentine gold).
_3:paint your bead with white glue and roll through your glitter. tap off excess and let dry.  touch up any spots that got missed.
_4: I only wanted a little bit of sparkle so I glittered three of my gold beads, but do as many as makes you happy!
_5: lay out all your beads on newspaper and spray with your clear coat.  This adds a shine to your beads and locks in the glitter to keep it from flaking off.  Spray one side, let dry, turn over and spray the other side. Apply two coats.
_6:make sure your beads are completely dry before threading them onto a ribbon.  I find it easiest to thread if I wrap a bit of masking tape around the end of the ribbon (kind of like a shoelace!)
_7:  if you want , add a length of chain to your necklace after threading the beads onto the ribbon, tying it securely and trimming the ends. Note:  leave a bit more length than what I've shown, otherwise you run the risk of it unraveling and beads cascading everywhere!
You can either join the two ends of chain with a clasp or jump ring and call it a day, or if you're like me and just happen to have a scrap of chain lying around you can tie more ribbon onto the other end to make your necklace longer.

And that's it, you're done!  And now you have something else pretty to add to your spring wardrobe.  Have fun experimenting with different paint techniques and glitter, I think a polka dot one would be sweet too!

Have a lovely weekend!   Also like the straight hair?! xo, T.

And again, the prettiest pictures are by the lovely Mackenzie loewen!