I love the big chunky necklaces that everyone is wearing these days. The obvious obsession are those Kate Spade statement necklaces, which cost a whopping $428.
I love the sunny yellow color – it’s exactly what I need to brighten up the doldrums of February while I wait for Spring. I may not be in the market for a statement necklace that is quite so spendy, but I am definitely in the market for a pop of yellow.
So I decided to make my own, and I think it does the trick.
You can make one too – here’s how I did it!

Supplies, thanks to Michaels. It was $5ish. I lost the receipt, so you'll have to trust my memory. I guarantee it wasn't $428.
I made a mistake and bought one bag of smallish beads, and another bag of largish dowel finials that only had a hole on one side. Luckily I’m married to a wood worker, so before I even had my keys in-hand to go back to the store, he had drilled the holes all the way through. If the same thing happens to you, you can drill it too. It’s not that I don’t know how to work a drill (thankyouverymuch) it’s that I was too air headed to think of it. Bruce saves the day again! (Not pictured: can of spray paint. If you really need to see what it looked like, here you go. Decor Chick is so much better at this than I am. She takes pictures of her spray paint and everything!)
Next:
Wait for the rain to stop (good luck with that) and then spray away. I was particularly proud of my genius maneuver with the skewers. Brilliant!
Once the beads have dried, wrap the ribbon over the blunt end of one of your skewers, and push the bead down until the ribbon is all the way through. Then pull the ribbon straight, remove the skewer, and voila! Do it again and again and again, until you’ve threaded all the beads you want.
I used 12 little beads, and 6 big ones. I think that I might remove one of the big beads because there’s something feng shui about odd numbers.
The Result:
Once again, I turned to my darling friend, Pinterest, for inspiration. All of these are on my Fashion Board as well. Here are some of the necklaces that gave me the courage to give this a shot.
- Little Miss Momma
- TsuraLi Etsy Shop
- Happy Little Lovelies Etsy Shop
- V and Co give their own tutorial
I have to say, this crafting effort turned out way better than my terrariums, which are all in death throws. I highly recommend it. It’s another way to trendy without the spendy!
this is a really, really great idea! i’ve been wanting a big bead necklace exactly like that, only in red. thanks for the tutorial!
So glad you like it! I love my necklace and always feel like a champ when I wear it. If you lived in Seattle, I’d just give you my extra beads. Have fun!