Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but they’re also
a wallet’s archenemy. I took my spending down a few notches to nab a
diamond wannabe: clear resin nuggets. Paired with quartz chips, these ice-like
chunks put a youthful, funky spin on a birthstone-
inspired necklace. – Kelsey Lawler
Project
Birthstones
Suppliesnecklace 18 in. (46 cm)
◆ 7-in. (18 cm) strand 12–17 mm (large) resin nuggets
◆ 7-in. (18 cm) strand 6–13 mm (small) resin nuggets
◆ 36-in. (.9 m) strand quartz chips◆ 4 5 mm round spacers◆ flexible beading wire, .014 or .015◆ 2 crimp beads◆ magnetic or box clasp◆ chainnose or crimping pliers◆ diagonal wire cutters
Resin beads and quartz chips from Eclectica. Resin nuggets also available from The Bead Goes On, thebeadgoeson.com. Magnetic clasp from Claspgarten, www.claspgarten.com. Check your local bead store for supplies.
1Cut a piece of beading wire (Basics). String a small nugget
and four chips. Repeat seven or eight times, ending with a nugget. Center the beads.
2 Cut a piece of beading wire 2 in. (5 cm) longer than the
first. String a large nugget and two chips. Repeat 10 or 11 times, ending with a nugget. Center the beads.
3 On each end of each strand, string chips until the strand is
within 1 in. (2.5 cm) of the finished length.
4On each side, over both wires, string a spacer, a crimp bead,
a spacer, and half of a clasp. Check the fit, and add or remove beads if necessary. Go back through the beads just strung and tighten the wires. Crimp the crimp bead (Basics) and trim the excess wire.
