DIY: bobby pin necklace

I recently bought a can of gold spray paint, and ever since then, I've been obsessively coating every possible item I can think of with the Midas touch. 

Some projects went awry - like the metal box that I spray-painted (an overly-thick gold layer + Hong Kong humidity = bubbling effect = FAIL). But one of my projects - a gold bobby pin necklace - turned out pretty swell! 

I was first inspired by this gold statement necklace below. Even though I had already bought this one, I was curious to see if I could make something similar on my own. I'm always collecting random scraps and old odds&ends in the hopes of making something new.

So... I came up with this idea.

This necklace can be made with only THREE simple steps! Here's what you need:

STEP 1: The first step would be to spray-paint the bobby pins gold. (You could just use black bobby pins but I think gold -or silver - looks much better). Remember, it's better to spray-paint a few thin layers, letting each layer dry thoroughly before applying the next one. I was kinda impatient though, so the paint job on my bobby pins wasn't that great. haha.

STEP 2: Take the spray-painted gold bobby pins and simply insert them through the gaps of the rhinestone chain. I put three bobby pins in each gap (51 bobby pins in total).

STEP 3: Once you've created a nice golden "arch" with all the bobby pins, tie some ribbon at each end and trim off any excess rhinestone chain. To prevent the ribbon from fraying, use a lighter to singe the edges.

...and that's it! Here's the final product:

So there you have it - a cheap and simple statement necklace made out of bobby pins. I'm quite happy with the result... although I'm not sure when I'll wear it but I'm sure I can find an excuse of a fancy occasion to bust it out sometime in the future. =P