Tutorial: Beads & Flower Necklace

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My friend, Denise, is a sweet lady who used to work for me. She was like an aunt. Her daughters were volunteers of mine and they are precious. Denise is an Army wife and has made a few moves since she worked for me 5 years ago. Her most recent move put her just 45 minutes away from where my parents live, so she’ll be stopping by to visit tomorrow.  My mom suggested that we make use of her craft room (and what seems like a limitless supply of craft items!) and make a little gift for her.

Back when I made these necklaces my mom told me that she had a bunch of wooden beads like the ones I used. So I made the necklace while my mom made the wrapping. Denise is the biggest Hello Kitty fan I know and a lover of all things pretty and feminine. She is also a breast cancer survivor (recently declared in remission!). So pink seemed fitting.

Let’s start with the final product:

The materials I used were:

-Pink & white paint (my mom didn’t have the right shade of pink so we did a little mixing).

-Wooden beads in three sizes.

-Pink satin.

-White organdy ribbon.

-A Styrofoam block.

-Kabob skewers.

-Painting supplies.

-Hot glue gun.

We stuck the skewers in the Styrofoam block and then just slid the beads down them to make it easier to paint them. Then I just painted a few coats of the paint on.

While the paint was drying, I cut the satin fabric into six circles of graduating sizes.

I ran the circles’ edges through a candle flame to melt them and get them to curl up. A little circle of glue in the middle and then sticking one petal on top of the other made a lovely flower. A few pink beads glued to the center was the perfect finishing touch.

I put a big bead in the middle and then two medium beads on either side and then three small beads on either side.

The flower was attached by gluing it to the ribbon with a circle of satin glued behind that.

I love the asymmetrical look, but with having such a balanced look in the beads, the flower ended up having to sit above the top level bead on the other side, as you can kind of see here

I added a few more small beads to the opposite side of the flower and it was exactly what the necklace needed.

While I made the necklace, my mom made a sweet accordion flower with pink and white craft paper and tulle. She then wrapped the necklace in pink tissue paper and then clear cellophane. I can’t wait to give Denise her necklace!

Thanks for stopping by!

(Go HERE to see the necklaces I made with the extra beads.)

Parties I link up with:

Hoo’s Got Talent, The Sunday Scoop, The Sunday Showcase Party, Made By You Monday, Market Yourself Monday, Making the World Cuter Monday, Weekend Wrap Up, Motivate Me Monday, Frugalicious Friday, Feature Yourself Friday, Just Something I Whipped Up, Mad Skills Party, Get Your Craft On, Anything Related, Make it Yours Day, The Shabby Nest, Kojo Designs, Tea Rose Home, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Real Momma, Real Style, Idea Sharing Wednesday, Creative-ly U