DIY - Painted Rhinestone Necklace

My house is full of DIY this week.  I'm feeling very creative. We're doing tons of DIY for our wedding. This weekend we are planning a big DIY weekend. My mom is coming to town and we'll be hard at work on lots of wedding projects. Over the weekend I stopped by Forever 21 to check out their rhinestone necklaces.  I've been itching to create a painted rhinestone necklace for a long time.  I love using nail polish as paint on DIY projects. Like on these sunglasses. Nail polish has a built in brush and I have a ton of colors at my disposal (nail polish obsession issue). 

The beauty of this DIY is the cost and how easy it is to make.  Spending a ton on a necklace was out of the question and F21 is the place for inexpensive jewelry.  I found two great necklaces and decided to go with the chunkier of the two for this DIY. Then I got to work with the nail polish.


SUPPLIES
Rhinestone Necklace - Forever 21 $8.80
Nail Polish (colors) - I chose two colors (hot pink and blue)
Nail Polish (clear) - used for sealing the necklace

My apologies for this awful photo.  This is what happens when you only take one picture and don't check your results.  I painted a thin coat on each rhinestone.  Then I went back and did a second coat.

After the second coat of colored polish dried, I painted each of the stones with clear polish.  This works as a sealant, just like on your nails. Then I let my necklace dry overnight.

I know I will be wearing this beauty often.  Forever 21 might be getting another visit.  I want to DIY a necklace in every color imaginable. If you love to read about DIY projects but you'd rather buy it already made, check out this affordable version from Forever 21 (in two color combos).

Costume for a New Year

I'm finally back.  I took a much needed break over the holidays.  Using some of my vacation time, I spent time with family and friends, made Christmas presents and rested. Work and wedding planning have been my focus this week but I'm back in the swing now. We hosted a New Year's Eve party at our house for a few friends.  This year we decided to have an 80's themed party.  Everyone dressed as their favorite 80's icon.  We listened to a fantastic 80's playlist, compiled by my friend and music maestro Carl and even drank Bartles and James wine coolers. I decided to dress as Madonna.  I knew I had a few pieces I could use but I wanted to buy some new ones that I could wear after the party and into 2013.

1) Contrast Moto Jacket - F21, Leggings - Torrid, Rhinestone Necklace - F21 (no longer available online), Bangle Sets - Nordstrom Rack and Bloomingdales, Sam Edelman Peyton (no longer available, similar here) - Nordstrom Rack

 
My friends at Potomac Mills Mall invited me to come to the mall and shop in the Fashion District.  They have great stores like Nordstrom Rack, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Forever 21, Torrid, Bloomingdales, and TJ Maxx. They gave me a gift certificate to use during my shopping adventure.  I was thrilled to shop in some of my favorite stores.  You've read about my amazing finds from Nordstrom Rack and NM Last Call. It was so hard to choose my items. It was sensory overload and I kept finding all sorts of other great items. Staying focused was hard. I knew I wanted to get some great pieces that I could wear over and over and I had to keep my eye on the goal.

This is a photo heavy post. You can see and read more after the jump.