Friday, June 25, 2010

Book Page Necklace

Now that I've gone through all of my parties so far, I thought I'd try my hand at a necklace. I love statement jewelry pieces. I find any occasion to wear them.


During recent travels, I saw this antique necklace worn by historic royalty. I thought I could definitely try my own version.


I found the 1 1/2 inch and 1/2 inch wooden beads along with satin ribbon at Hobby Lobby for 40% off, so I knew this was the project for me! I had tissue paper at home along with spray paint. I stopped by Half Price Books to find a fashion book on the clearance rack to use the pages. I pulled out my Mod Podge and got started.


For the book page beads, I used Erin's tutorial for her book page egg wreath. That was very helpful in knowing the best way to attach the pages to the beads. It was somewhat of a tedious process, but well worth it. I glued the center of the pages to the beads, then cut slits on both sides, and wrapped each piece trying my best to smooth them down.


As for the accent beads, I wanted to use a bold color. I love all things turquoise, plus I had turquoise tissue paper on-hand, so it worked out nicely. I ended up spray painting the beads a blueish color first just so the wood part wouldn't show through since the tissue paper was so thin. I wanted to add the tissue paper pieces to give more texture. After cutting the tissue paper into small, random pieces, I used Mod Podge to glue them on. I used a gloss Mod Podge at the end to coat both the accent and book page beads to give a shiny appearance.


I spray painted the 1/2 inch wooden beads black to use as spacers. I laid out the beads making sure the words on the book page beads were all facing out, so they would be the same direction when wearing the necklace. I used black satin ribbon to string the beads together and left the ends longer, so I could tie a nice bow in the back. You may notice I ended up with fewer book page beads than I originally laid out--this is because once I strung them together, the necklace seemed quite overwhelming. I took out a few beads to make it more of a choker-style (or as my husband refers to it as "Wilma Flintstone" style).


It was definitely a fun project to do and now wear. I'll be linking to these great parties this week. Check them out and see you in 2 weeks!

23 comments:

Michele {The Scrap Shoppe} June 25, 2010 at 8:00 AM  

It definitely makes a statement! Very pretty!! I love the combo of the naked book pages and the paint. Great job!

Laurie in SC June 25, 2010 at 8:15 AM  

Love it, love it! I'm a big reader, so I really need a necklace like this! I really like how you paired it with the turquoise beads, very interesting. Great job! ♥Laurie

the lovely paper shop June 25, 2010 at 11:36 AM  

wow! i love this!! so cute and i love the look of the book pages! good job:)

FrouFrouBritches June 25, 2010 at 12:31 PM  

That is so stinkin' cute! Love it!

Val June 25, 2010 at 3:01 PM  

I love bold necklaces and this is awesome!!!

Tiffany June 25, 2010 at 4:18 PM  

So creative! Love the addition of the turquoise beads and the black ribbon tied in the back!

The Autocrat: Haley June 26, 2010 at 1:26 AM  

Very fabulous!! Love the color choices!! I totally need to make one! Thanks for the great idea!

Unknown June 26, 2010 at 1:27 AM  

Love this necklace although I don't think I could pull this off. Great job!

Jessica June 26, 2010 at 7:18 AM  

Amy, so cute! I'll give it a whirl!

Jen June 26, 2010 at 9:43 AM  

You are rockin that necklace! I love it! Great job!

McKell June 26, 2010 at 11:43 AM  

So cute! I love the chunky beads!! Cute idea, I might have to try it out :)

*come check out my blog if you'd like.

Erin A June 26, 2010 at 1:55 PM  

It looks awesome Amy, great job!! Love the mix of the blue and the book pages!

Patrice June 27, 2010 at 4:05 PM  

This is great! Love that color for sure!

Rose :: FineCraftGuild.com June 28, 2010 at 2:49 AM  

great idea!

so good in fact that I want to invite you to join our DIY Craft tutorial party ...
http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-tutorial-linky-party-3/

and btw. perhaps you are interested
in a 'new' (ha ha .... a very old but oh so delicious looking) necklace idea:
http://www.finecraftguild.com/how-to-make-a-girly-necklace-from-magazine-paper-beads/

Maria@BubblegumandDuctTape June 28, 2010 at 9:17 AM  

what a cute necklace and such a great idea to use the wood beads. I love the turquoise contrast.

Sarah June 28, 2010 at 12:15 PM  

Great looking piece! I've always thought I'd do one of these. You are inspiring me! ~Sarah

Rory from Tools Are For Women Too! June 28, 2010 at 1:35 PM  

This book page crafting has become really popular lately! Thanks for giving us tips on how to make this on Modern Craftswoman Monday! Rory

Rose :: FineCraftGuild.com June 28, 2010 at 3:35 PM  

Lovely creative and great upcycling ideas as well. Very good.

Thanks for linking it up at Fine Craft Guild DIY Linky Party.

Do join our next party again with a great tutorial. The party will open Wednesday and you can reach it from our homepage.

Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple June 28, 2010 at 4:16 PM  

WOW, now that is a necklace! Looks great!

anne maskell June 28, 2010 at 6:33 PM  

Very nice! I am a necklace fan myself. I'm visiting with sumo, hope you visit me too!

Home-Mom June 28, 2010 at 11:30 PM  

newest fan from social parade!!!
hosting my 2nd its friday im hopping
http://home-momblog.blogspot.com/search/label/ifih
Love love love your necklaces, oh if I could just sit down and do that.

Samantha June 29, 2010 at 9:21 AM  

Cute. I like the big beads.

Kelli W June 30, 2010 at 7:26 AM  

Adorable! I love the turquoise beads!

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