DIY ~ Open Metal Tassel Collar Necklace

 Hi lovelies!  I've got such a fun DIY today.  I saw this amazing necklace at the Free People store and *needed* to recreate it.  It's surprisingly simple to make, involves reusing some old, never worn pieces and some items from your stash.  {Keep reading for the how-to!}

You'll need:

• Jewelry pliers, wire cutters, scissors
• Collar necklace (I had an old one I reused.  If you don't, just use some wire and shape it!)
• Random pieces of chain
• Embroidery floss
• Beads, charms, head pins and jump rings.

First I removed the clasp and charm from my necklace, and gently bent the piece so it was more open.  If you're using wire, just make it look like this.  It should rest on your collarbone, so use yourself as a measurement.

I started by cutting chain to random lengths and laid them out.  I then laid out the different beads and charms where I liked them.  Now let's make some tassels.  I wrapped the navy floss around my two fingers as shown, about 6 times then snipped the end.

Then I wrapped the burgundy color around on top of the navy 3 times and snipped the end.  

 Gently slide the loops off your fingers and cut an additional piece of burgundy floss about 6" long.  Tie it around the top and into a knot about 1/4 of the way down, as shown.

Bring the ends down into the tassel, and give it a trim.  My tassels in all are about 1.5" long.

Open a jump ring and slide it through the loops at the top.  Repeat for a second tassel.  For the next one, I used more burgundy than navy.

Finalize where you'd like your pieces, staggering them down some chains.  Take some small chain scraps and make a chain tassel too!

To attach the beads, slide the bead onto a headpin and then bend the top of the wire to a 90 degree angle as shown.

Wrap the wire into a loop as shown, but don't close it just yet!  Slide it into a chain link, then snip the excess wire and close the loop.

Repeat to add the remaining beads, charms, and tassels.

Voila!

Add each side of chains onto a jump ring and attach it to the loops on the collar.  Repeat for the other side.

All done!  That wasn't so bad, was it?

To wear it, slide it on from the back of your neck (lift your hair up first, trust me on this!)

I love the autumnal vibe of this piece so much, but it could easily be remade into a more summery piece when the time comes too.  Using items I had on hand, I actually made this for a cost of nothing.  Challenge yourself to reuse old pieces you never wear by giving them a facelift and adding other pieces from other jewelry too!

I'd love to see your take on this!  Make sure to snap a pic and instagram it, and don't forget to hashtag #snsDIY!

xo
Lia