I was never good at art. I was always a little heavy-handed with the glue (and the glitter), my Color-Me-Mine projects looked like they were painted by a toddler just learning to stay inside the lines, and my elementary school paintings were rarely chosen for the district-wide art show. One of my favorite things to see online are Pinterest and DIY fails, where people try to recreate a Cookie Monster or a Little Engine That Could cake, and the results are mildly terrifying. However, I saw on Facebook instructions on how to make a necklace, and I thought that it couldn’t be that hard so I gave it a try. Hopefully, you like the results!

I found inspiration for both of these necklaces on bywilma.com, but I put my own twist on them to make them unique, and if you try these, I encourage you to do the same.

1. Washer Necklace

For this necklace, I bought 10 10mm washers at Lowe’s (10 for $2.50), nail polish at 5 Below (3 colors for $5), and a package of 10 mm jump rings (a package of 60 for $2.99) and silver chain (2 meters for $3.99) I got at Michael’s craft store (an old necklace chain would also suffice). First, I painted the washers and let them dry. They will need a couple of coats to make sure it goes on smooth, and make sure to let them completely dry before moving onto the next step.

Next, attach the washers using the jump rings like I have in the picture. I used pliers to open and close them, and it took me until about the 10th jump ring to get the process down. Then, attach the washers to the chain, and if the chain is very fine, then smaller jump rings might be needed, but if you buy chain like mine, then the 10mm ones should be fine. I used about 45 links on each side of the necklace and attached them using a safety pin. You can also use a lobster clasp, but I was too cheap to buy them!

The necklace took me about 2 hours to make in total and was sometimes frustrating, but it became easier once I got the process down. You can also paint either one or both sides of the washers, making it a great double-sided statement necklace!

2. Triangle Necklace

For this necklace, I painted an old gift card using nail polish, again painting both sides, making it a double sided statement necklace (purple on one side and pink on the other). After it was completely dry, I cut the gift card into three triangles and punched holes in the top two corners of each. I used a basic paper hole puncher, which required some muscling to get to go all the way through.

Then, again using pliers, I attached the jump rings to the triangles and then I attached the outer two triangles to the chain. This time, since the necklace is wider, I only used about 40 links for each side of the chain, but I again attached the two sides using a safety pin.

The best part was the materials cost me around $15, and I still have enough chain and jump rings to make another three necklaces!