How to freshen up a necklace
I had this twenty year old necklace among my forgotten costume jewelry and decided to experiment a bit. It was once light blue with an iridecent coating, but the plastic "beads" had yellowed over the years and the coating was all but gone. Not much lost if I completely ruin it, but I wanted to try a makeover before throwing it out. Luckily it turned out quite nicely.
Materials used:
necklace with plastic beads fused to the thread
brown nail varnish
clear nailvarnish with goldglitter
tray from a box of chocolates
My weapons of choice: I picked a nailvarnish I already had, but rarely use, because it is one of those colours that don't look good in chipped. The glittery coat was a later addition to make things more interesting.
I forgot to take a pic before I started, but here you can see the original colour and the beginning of the transformation. I found it easiest to paint a few beads at a time and then drape them over the plastic tray to dry. The little brush that comes with the varnish was sufficient for this type of simple (re)painting, but if you want fancy patterns, it's probably best to use a thin painters brush.
The result after one coat on every bead. Since the original necklace was lightly coloured and the varnish was pretty dark, I was satisfied with the coverage. If you chose to go in the opposite direction ( dark to light) or use a less opaque colour, you might need a second coat. However, I thought my piece was still missing something. Something sparkly.
I decided to accentuate a few of the beads with clear, glittery varnish. There, done.
Materials used:
necklace with plastic beads fused to the thread
brown nail varnish
clear nailvarnish with goldglitter
tray from a box of chocolates
My weapons of choice: I picked a nailvarnish I already had, but rarely use, because it is one of those colours that don't look good in chipped. The glittery coat was a later addition to make things more interesting.
I forgot to take a pic before I started, but here you can see the original colour and the beginning of the transformation. I found it easiest to paint a few beads at a time and then drape them over the plastic tray to dry. The little brush that comes with the varnish was sufficient for this type of simple (re)painting, but if you want fancy patterns, it's probably best to use a thin painters brush.
The result after one coat on every bead. Since the original necklace was lightly coloured and the varnish was pretty dark, I was satisfied with the coverage. If you chose to go in the opposite direction ( dark to light) or use a less opaque colour, you might need a second coat. However, I thought my piece was still missing something. Something sparkly.
I decided to accentuate a few of the beads with clear, glittery varnish. There, done.