a necklace made of cardboard ... redux!

I had some "beads" left over from my previous cardboard necklace, so I thought I'd try combining them with one of my most favorite materials, pom-poms. Yes.

First, I trimmed the corners from the triangular beads, just to try a different shape. These look a bit more crystal-like, I think.

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Then, I took a look at my bag of pom-poms. (I feel every home should have a ziplock bag of pom-poms, in case of emergencies.) I happen to have several different shades of blue, so I figured I'd paint the cardboard beads in a range of blues, too.

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Then, I laid everything out the way I wanted to string it. This helped me figure out which beads in the lineup will be at the center of the necklace.

Because this necklace is made solely of super-light-weight materials, I wanted to weigh it down somehow. I glued two dimes to the backs of the two center beads. I recommend doing this before you string everything together, which as you can see, is not how I did it. (This photo also illustrates why you should always paint first, decoupage second.)

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I cut small pieces of regular white copy paper to match the shapes of the two be-coined beads. I coated each paper bit with glue, then smoothed it over the coin and the back of the bead. This will help the dime stay right where it is.

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Now it's time to put it together. You do need an actual embroidery needle for this project; a yarn needle isn't sharp enough to go easily through a pom-pom. I threaded mine with embroidery floss, because I have a rainbow of colors on hand. Knot the end of a long-ish piece (about 20 inches), and thread on a pom-pom, then a cardboard bead, then another pom-pom, and so on. Just make sure to both start and end with a pom-pom; the poms stay tightly on the string and they'll keep your beads from sliding around. The finished piece:

But wait, there's more! I had a few of the other decoupaged beads left, so I made a third necklace with the alternating-pom-poms scheme, below.

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Something about working with such inexpensive materials really opens me up to trying more off-beat color and pattern combos than I otherwise might. I hope you get a chance to make your own cardboard bead necklace. They are truly fun!
xo