Dabbling in Handmade Jewelry

Last weekend, I went to a black tie wedding. Who has money for black tie weddings in this economy, right? I found a super deal on a gown at a great second hand store in Skippack, PA called Second Seitz. Then I borrowed some shoes from a friend and a mink stole from my mother-in-law.

Looking for some not too expensive costume jewelry proved a little more difficult. I searched through Etsy multiple times to see if I could find the perfect purpley-pink necklace to go with my amethyst colored dress. I bought a cute necklace with a pink rose, but when I tried it on with the dress, it wasn't dressy enough. (It looks great with jeans and a simple top, though!)

One evening, while walking through Michael's with my husband (past the jewelry aisle), he told me that I should try to make my own jewelry for the wedding. Just the invitation I needed! That night, I purchased some pink and purple glass beads and small pink pearls. While in college, I made some football inspired bracelets, so I found my old jewelry making supplies and went to work!

Well, making this necklace turned out to be a lot harder than I thought! The first necklace I made was mostly glass beads, and my husband said it looked like something made of plastic a child would wear. Yikes! I made several more trips to Michael's to get the right balance of glass beads to pearls, which I didn't accomplish until I went back again for more supplies to add another strand of beads. After stringing and restringing and restringing, here's what I finally came up with:



Admittedly, I was a little disappointed that I didn't get any compliments on my necklace that evening...and after all those trips to Michael's, I don't think it turned out to be the bargain necklace I hoped for. However, making a necklace filled up that part of my heart that loves to be crafty, so it was worth it in my book!

Finally, a picture of me all dolled-up with my handmade necklace!