While we were on the hunt for sparkly jewelry, our jaws dropped at the site of this Shourouk Leitmotiv Yildiz Neon Pink Necklace. Not only because it’s flat out gorgeous—a killer combo of glamorous crystals, sporty speckled cord, and a pop of neon—but also because of its price tag of $300. What! We could make this necklace for way less, we thought, and so we did!
The stars of this necklace are obviously the cord, which you can buy from your local craft store or even on Amazon for between $4-$6 a roll, and of course, the sparkly pendant. We took ours from an existing necklace we bought on sale at H&M for $5, but you can always use whatever glitzy leftovers you have on hand, like a vintage brooch or one half of a pair of dangly party earrings. Y’all ready for this style hack?
Materials:
– crystal pendant
– neon paracord
– nail polish
– four silver cord ends
– four silver jump rings
– silver lobster clasp
Tools:
– fabric scissors
– two needle nose jewelry pliers
– wire cutters
– E6000 glue
– a lighter
Instructions:
1. Source your crystal pendant or disassemble it from an existing necklace.
2. Paint various rhinestones with the nail polish color of your choosing. Let dry completely and apply a second coat if necessary.
3. Cut a 24 inch piece of paracord in half, then burn the edges with a lighter so that they don’t fray.
4. Add E6000 glue to either end of the paracord, then insert it into a cord end. Let completely dry, then add on appropriate jump rings and necklace clasps.
5. Affix the charm to your necklace.
This necklace was staring at us from the sale rack at H&M, and even though the industrial looking chain wasn’t really our jam, we were nuts about the crystal pendant. Since it was only $5, we couldn’t pass it up. Turns out it’s perfect for this project, with a few tweaks ;) We removed the pendant and clipped off the dangling gunmetal chain to give ourselves a clean looking crystal charm. If you have a vintage brooch laying around, that would work perfectly for this DIY, too.
Next, we covered the black rhinestones with a few coats of hot pink nail polish to match the pop of color on the necklace we’re re-making exactly. But if you’re in the mood for something even brighter, like a highlighter yellow, or something dramatic like a luxe emerald, just go for it.
While you’re waiting for your tricked out pendant to dry, start constructing your necklace. Snip a 24 inch piece of paracord in half, burn the edges to keep it from fraying, then glue those suckers into their cord ends. Repeat these steps on both sides. Easy, right?
So the nail polish on your pendant is dry, and your cord ends are fastened—now put the whole thing together! Add jump rings and clasps to the appropriate ends and attach your charm.
And there it is. Can you believe that by making it yourself, you saved about $285? DIY FTW!
These pops of neon are way more on par with our style than the as-is black rhinestones. Thanks to a few coats of nail polish, we gave ourselves a totally custom statement charm on the cheap.
It’s a great accessory to wear as we transition into Spring—it pops like a dream against a wine colored jersey shirt and a moto-inspired jean jacket. We imagine it would look just as eye-catching with more formal garb like a black maxi or a white collared blouse. Way to prove that you can look absolutely stellar on the cheap.
What kinds of jewelry hacks have you done lately? Tell us about your copycat DIYs in the comments below.