Refashioned Thrifted Wooden Bead Necklace

I really like making jewelry because compared to sewing projects its relatively fast. However jewelry supplies can get pricey so I get disappointed when I go to buy my supplies and it’s more than I want to spend. To remedy that problem I hit up my local thrift store and found several necklaces that were all made with different colors and sizes of wood beads.  I’m not a huge thrifter mostly because i hate taking my kids with me and most thrift stores close too early to do a run after kids go to bed.  On this specific thrift shop outing I knew I wanted to deconstruct some jewelry so I was looking for necklaces that had a lot of beads, I was pleasantly surprised to find all of these different wood necklaces with a lot of beads for cheap! Depending on the prices in your area I would venture to say you can get more beads this way for a cheaper price than buying just the beads at a craft store, and repurposing always me feel good. 

The first step is to take apart the necklaces, i just cut them at a point and pushed the beads of the string into a ziplock bag. Then i start to lay out the beads i think i’ll want to use on my jewelry board. In addition to your thrifted beads for this project you’ll need:
– some type of clasp/closure for your necklace
– head pins
– eye pins
– flex wire
– chain
– crimp beads

In the photos below you can see the process of creating this statement necklace. I started by stringing my first strand on wire and then at each end attaching it to chain with a crimp bead. I then added eye pins at the center and then going up each side in three spots. I added a few beads to the eye pins and then using my needle nose plies curled the ends in an eye. Using the same flex wire i continued to string beads and attach them to the necklace using the eye pins, draping the beads from pin to pin.

I love a big statement necklace and how it can totally transform an outfit. I also love getting creative and coming up with the design on my own. So go thrift some jewelry, take it apart and let your creative juices start flowing!