Can you be in love with a paint? Because I might need to get married to the gilding paint I used for this necklace. It’s silky and metallic, plus it comes in gold, silver, and brass, so you can make this necklace in your favorite metal finish. The only caveat is that it’s not water soluble, and it’s pretty smelly, so make sure to use plenty of ventilation and to have xylene paint thinner on hand for cleanup. Or you can do what I did and use 100% acetone nail polish remover to clean your brush–it does the job. Aside from the tricky clean-up, making your own copper bead necklace couldn’t be easier.

Supplies & Tools:
Large wooden beads, 5 (I used some similar to these)
Suede leather cord (I used 3 feet)
Copper gilding paint (I used Martha Stewart Liquid Gilding)
Glossy sealer (I used Martha Stewart High Gloss Finish)
White acrylic paint or primer
Scissors
Paint brush/foam brush
Screws that fit securely in the holes in your beads
Acetone nailpolish remover for paint cleanup (or xylene, another paint thinner)

Steps:
1. Use a screw to hold each wooden bead while you paint it with a coat of primer, or plain white acrylic craft paint. Let the beads dry.


2. Paint the beads with a layer of copper gilding paint. Let it dry, then paint a second coat.

3. After your gilding paint is dry, seal the beads with a glossy clear sealer. Let the sealer dry.

4. Remove the dry beads from the screws, and string them onto the suede cord. Tie a knot near the end. Try on your necklace and adjust the location of the knot if necessary.

That’s it! Now I’m off to find a way to use this gilding paint in every project from now on (kidding!).