DIY Kate Spade Necklace

Oops, it has been a long time since I shared a craft project with y'all.  Fortunately, I did some crafting this weekend so more projects are forthcoming!

Image via Polyvore

I spotted this Kate Spade Rosewood Dot necklace on the Kate Spade website a long time ago and thought it was a perfect, easy way to add a splash of neon into my spring/summer wardrobe...but not for $128.00. So, in true i Dabble fashion I attempted to make my own with my own personal touch. It was super easy, affordable ($7.00!!) and fun to recreate.

I used:
- 14 3/4" Wooden beads (find them in the wood craft department at A.C. Moore/Michaels)
- Hot Pink acrylic paint and paintbrushes
- Clear Acrylic sealer
- Embroidery floss/needle/extra bead or chain to finish your necklace

1)  Spread newspaper on a clean work surface and paint 8 (or as many as you want) wood bead halves with hot pink paint. Set aside to dry.  I painted 5 beads completely hot pink in lieu of two shades of wood as shown above. A second or third coat may be necessary to ensure full coverage on all beads.

Make sure your sealer works on wood

2) Once all beads are dry, in a well-ventilated area, spray clear acrylic sealer 10-12" away from the beads to seal the color and add some shine to the beads.  Make sure the beads are not touching each other before spraying because the color may bleed.  Set aside to dry.  I applied three coats total.

3) Cut a piece of embroidery floss 24" long and double over. Thread the two cut ends of the floss through a needle and then thread the beads onto the floss.  I used the pattern of solid, half, half, solid, etc.

Knot at the top, and then again at the bottom

4) Add a knot on each side of the necklace to secure beads and add jewelry clasps to the ends of the floss if you have them. I lent my bag o'fasteners to a friend so I needed to improvise.  I threaded my cut ends of floss through an extra bead, knot the floss at the top of the bead and then wrapped the floss back around to the bottom of the bead and knotted it again.  That's confusing, the picture is easier to understand.

5) Place the necklace on a clean surface and add another layer (or two) of acrylic sealer if you want more shine like I did.

Before heading to Blogger Blitz!

Let the necklace dry for several hours, if not overnight.  Then go forth and rock it! I'm really happy with how mine turned out, it's not an exact replica of Ms. Spade's but I love the added color in mine.

I hope you had a great weekend; mine was wonderful, productive and fun.  I ended my Sunday with Blogger Blitz DC! Such fun meeting so many beautiful, talented bloggers!