You know how June Cleaver always wore her beautiful strand of pearls, no matter what the occasion? They were gorgeous! She loved them so much, the washing, ironing, vaccuuming, and even the date night justified wearing them! Well, I'm no Mrs. Cleaver, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for pearls. So much so, that I wanted a pearl necklace to wear for my wedding. Unfortunately, I'm just too freaking poor to get a real strand! So, I went online, and I found a small strand of mother of pearl chips...kind of a bizzarre name, since these chips are well rounded, but for $12.50, I couldn't argue!
The neclace I bought was purchased by the original owner in the 1950's (an initial part of their charm in my eyes, they might as well be real pearls if they're antiques!), and had been repaired several times. There was a threaded clasp that was still in fair shape, but it wasnt what I really had in mind. So my string of pearls got a makeover.
My supplies, plastic stringing thread, new watch chain style clasp, and an old strand of pearls.
This was the most difficult part. Making the cut! I had to think, 60 years of love were with this necklace, how could I possibly hope to keep its beauty while improving its integrity?
And there came my chore. I snipped the flimsy plastic string that it was strung on, and took off one bead at a time, and threaded it onto the new string. This took a little over an hour, but after it was said and done, I think the necklace looks as well as it did back in 1950.
This was a fun DIY restoration project. I have a string of (I think) pearls. All told, it cost me $14 (necklace and supplies), and I saved out a couple inches of beads to make a matching pair of earrings.
But, no matter the fact, I have part of my wedding jewelry in hand. Take that Mrs. Cleaver!
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