{Tutorial} Queen Bee & Me Necklace

I absolutely LOVE knock offs!  And what I love even more is knocking off super expensive pieces for almost no cost.  Here's the piece that I "knocked off" for Crafting with the Stars Round 1.

When I saw this Anthopologie necklace, I loved it!  I didn't love the price tag, though!  I immediately started planning out how I could make it.  With supplies that I had at home already, I was able to make this is about 2 hours!

Wanna find out how to make your own?

{Supplies}

Ribbon

Embroidery Floss or Thread {& needle}

Acrylic Paint

1-2 sheets Shrinky Dinks {I used the Frosted kind}

1/8" Hole Punch

Using your Acrylic Pant, roughly paint the rough side of the Shrinky Dink sheet.  Allow to dry.

{I wasn't kidding when I said roughly!}

Using your computer {or if you have awesome drawing skills}, print or draw a stencil hexagon to use to trace for your pieces.  I wanted my finished hexagons to be around 3/4."  Knowing that the Shrinky Dinks will shrink to about 1/3 the original size, I made my pieces around 2 1/2" big.

Trace around this piece 12 times to make 12 charms. {Duh!} Next cut the charms out carefully.  {My pieces had nice points, but in hind sight, I wish I would have curved them just a little.}

Lay them together in the necklace patttern and using the original necklace as a guide, punch holes in the charms where they will be connected to the charms next to them.  The 1/8" Hole Punch is the perfect size for any jewelry holes.

For the spot where the ribbon will attach, make sure to make a long slit.  I just kept punching holes next to each other to create a long slit.

Lay the pieces out on a piece of paper on a cookie sheet.  Follow the instructions on the Shrinky Dinks by placing them in the oven.  It usually only takes 3-5 minutes.

Note if you've never used Shrinky Dinks:  They will look REALLY funny for a while and you won't think they are working, but wait just a bit longer.  They will flatten out.

You can really use either side as the top.  I liked the shiny side best, but the matte side would be just as cute :)

Using your needle and thread, string the charms all together.  Tie the knots in the back and you'll never see them!

{Front}

{Back}

Cut 2 long pieces of ribbon, one for each side.  Using sharp scissors, cut a little snip in the center of the ribbon approximately 1/4" from the end.

Pull this end of the ribbon through the slit in the charm.  Then pull the opposite end of the ribbon through the hole that you just cut.

Pull the ribbon tight.  Repeat on the other side and you are done!!

My lovely sister and niece were models for me since the contest was anonymous.  Aren't they sooo cute!?!

What I love is that the color combinations are endless!  I would love a yellow and gray combo!

If you make this or any of my projects, I'd love to see pictures!  Email me by clicking the button at the top of my sidebar.  If I have enough people share, I'll do a post of with everyone's pictures!

And I'll be sharing at some of these linky parties!

And here: