Coral Spiral DIY Necklace

Hey friends!  I have a pretty DIY necklace to share with you today with a natural, boho feel.  Two layers rest together in this casual (but not too casual!) piece of jewelry.  The bold pendant and soft coral colors work for social gatherings, a day out shopping, or your average workday.

These beautiful beads come from my friends at The Bead Chest.  With lots of natural stone, mixed metals, and recycled options, The Bead Chest is a great place to find treasures like these! (Yes, pun intended.)

I knew when I spotted the spiral pendant, it would be the focal piece for my next project.  Pairing the cool metals with soft coral colors makes it bold but feminine – and I’ll show you how to make it yourself.  (And check out the other great beads I added to my cart!)

Supplies needed to make this Coral Spiral DIY Necklace:

• 48mm Engraved Spiral Pendant
• Metal Heishi Beads
• 12mm Baule Spiral Beads
• 5mm Java Glass Beads (in coral, or your favorite color)
• 2mm Chain to achieve the length you prefer (I used about 6″ of chain)
• Lobster Clasp
• (2) 6mm Jump Rings
• (2) 4mm Jump Rings
• 4 Crimp Beads
• 4 Wire Protectors
• Beading Wire (I used 7 Strand Steel)
• Crimp Pliers
• Chain Nose Pliers
• Flush Cutters

String approximately 7 inches of glass Java beads, with silver heishi beads mixed in as spacers onto beading wire.  I used a pattern of 3 glass, 1 metal, but you can mix it up to match your style!  Next, add an engraved pendant, and then repeat the glass and metal pattern for another 7 inches, giving you a total of approximately 14 inches.  On each end of the wire, close it by stringing it through a crimp bead, around a wire protector, and back through the crimp bead.

When it’s snug against your beads, crimp the crimp bead with crimp pliers, and trim away the excess wire.  Create another bead strand out of the baule beads – to keep it from getting too heavy, I used 2 inches of heishi beads on each end, and strung 10 inches of the spiral beads.  I used a pattern of 2 heishi beads between each baule bead.  You should now have 2 strands of similar length.

Now, connect the two strands together at each end with a 6mm jump ring.  Decide the length of necklace you like.  For me, I like a length of 20 inches for a style like this, so I cut 2 lengths of chain, 3″ long each.  If you prefer yours to be longer or shorter, now is where you can make these adjustments

Attach the lengths of chain to each jump ring, and attach a lobster clasp with a 4mm jump ring.  You may find it unusual that I am attaching chain, rather than beading the necklace all the way around, but I am more comfortable with a slim chain on the back of my neck instead of bulky beads.  (Once again – this is the beauty of a DIY necklace!  You can make it comfortable for yourself by adjusting the length and materials to suit you.)

The end result is a necklace that has fetched a few compliments each time I’ve worn it!  I can’t wait to dig into some of the other types of beads I picked up from today’s post sponsor, The Bead Chest!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY necklace project, and I’ll see you all again soon!