Knocking off the OC Housewives

One of my guilty pleasures is watching the Real Housewives of Orange County on BRAVO. This season, Gretchen Rossi wore the cutest turquoise and starfish necklace during her “confessionals” and I had to have one. But I KNEW it was going to be super expensive, if I could even find it, and I was not too fond of the actual starfish. I knew I could make a knock-off, just for me!  This project is so easy, you're going to want to make one too, or at least consider knocking off our fave celebrities' beaded jewels.

Here's my version of Gretchen's necklace:

To create this necklace, I strung some plain, turquoise colored beads onto elastic beading filament. To give the beads some pop and replicate the multi-colored strands of Gretchen’s necklace, I added in crystal beads in several different shades of blue. The crystal beads pull from the shine of the pin and really make the necklace pop!

To make sure the beads will compliment one another, use a beading board to lay them out before stringing. These strings are all about 1/2″ to 1″ longer or shorter than one another to also add depth as they hang.

The flower, to replace the Starfish, was made using ICEResin, flowers diecut from Rowlux Illusion Film, seed beads, and a piece of broken jewelry from my grandmother that serves as the center of the flower. The back is a pin – the pin is threaded across the strings of beads and can be moved or removed and worn as a pin alone. Here’s how to create the focal pin:

Here's how to create the focal pin:

Supplies:

• Crystal Beads
• Porcelain Beads
• Turquoise Stone Beads
• Acrylic Beads
• Rowlux Illusion Film
• ICEResin
• Sizzix Diecutting Machine with Flower Layers dies
• Stretch Bead Filament
• Pin Back
• Seed Beads
• Non Stick Craft Mat
• Glue Gun
• Scissors

Next time you see a piece you love, consider knocking it off and making it your own! Which celeb’s style do you love?

Thanks for stopping by!

Author: Jennifer Priest

It started with jewelry, beading, sewing, home decor, painting, basket weaving, pottery, and cross-stitch. Marry that to an entrepreneurial spirit & at 9 years old a girl is selling her wares at craft fairs as far as her parents and grandparents would drive her. These days, Jennifer enjoys crafts of all genres from sewing to scrapbooking to jewelry with a little dabbling in the mixed media world. Her style is approachable and she wants everyone who sees her work to feel that they too can embrace creativity and make their home and life beautiful.