The Perfect DIY End of the Year Teacher Gift

DIY teacher gift.  Hand Painted rosary-decorative beads and cross.  Tutorial on www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com


Hello lovelys!

It's that time of year when we need to start thinking about what we're going to give our kid's teachers for their end of the year gift.  Now let me start out by saying, as a former teacher of 6 years, I know gift cards are what teachers want!  So definitely get your teacher a gift card or go in with the other parents from the class to give your child's teacher a nice gift card to one of his/her favorite places.  It will be greatly appreciated.  In addition, and for those of you toying with the idea of also giving that special teacher something personal and from the heart, I have the perfect DIY gift for you that won't break the bank!  



Some of you may have seen this tutorial already back at Christmas time.  I got so many positive comments and emails from people who said they made them for family members as gifts, I decided to post it again because I thought it would make a great, inexpensive gift for teachers too! It may even be a fun project for you and your child to make together for that special teacher at school!  
    painted decorative beads and cross make the perfect gift!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com


I am not catholic, but I don't think you have to be to see the rosary as a beautiful symbol!  I see these oversized, decorative rosaries in home decor stores all over town but they are SO expensive!  So, being the cheapo that I am, I figured out how to make one myself. 

First, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought all the materials that I needed...

-2 different sizes of wooden beads
They come 8 to a bag so I bought 4 bags to give my main string 32 beads.
 ( If you are making an actual rosary you will need way more than that) 



Notice that these are smaller than the 1" beads above.  I bought 1 pack of these because I only needed 3.
(again, if you are making a rosary, you will need a different amount)
-twine
you could also use canvas string or anytime of jewelry making string 

 -birch cross
these come 3 to a pack but I only used 2

-materials I already had laying around: Liquid Leaf in gold, Country Gray chalk paint by ASCP, brushes, super glue, drill with small drill bit.  *sidenote-you can use any paint (acrylic, house paint, chalk paint, whatever!) 

First, I started by painting all of my beads the same color, Country Gray by ASCP.  To thoroughly cover each bead with paint, I held them one at a time in between my pointer finger and thumb with my left hand and painted with my right hand.  (this may sound like it took forever but I used a brush that was equally as wide as the beads so it really only took a few seconds per bead)  Chalk paint dries so quickly that I was able to set them down on a towel right after painting each bead and never had to go back and do any touch ups.  After all of my beads were painted, I started stringing the larger ones first.  After loading all 32 of them onto a piece of twine, I tied a double knot at the top of the necklace, leaving 1/4" of wiggle room in the strand to attach the cross at the bottom.  After tying the double knot I cut the twine down as close to the knot as I could so that there wasn't any excess twine leftover. 

Next, it was time to attach the 3 smaller beads and the cross to the bottom of the strand.  I tied another double knot in the leftover space I just mentioned with a second piece of twine.  This knot was in the very center of the beads (16 on each side) at the bottom of the strand.  After tying the double knot, I slipped on the first of 3 smaller beads and secured it in place with another double knot...



I continued this step until all 3 beads were attached to the same piece of twine with double knots securing them in place on each side... 

painted decorative beads and cross make the perfect gift!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

Once the necklace was complete, I needed to attach the cross.  I decided to use 2 of the 3 crosses that came in the pack because I didn't think that using just 1 was going to be thick enough to achieve the look I was going for.  I simply glued 2 of these birch crosses together with some super glue I found in a kitchen drawer to make 1 thick cross... 
any glue should work just as long as you don't use a layer that is too thick

Once the glue dried, I painted the cross with the same Country Gray by ASCP and drilled a small hole in the top center.  Then I threaded the remaining twine from the strand of 3 smaller beads, through the hole in the cross and tied it off with a double knot.  (see previous photo with arrows again)

Then it was time for the gold leaf!  


I use the same brush for gold leafing every time.  Any brush will do as long as the bristles are somewhat thick, short, and hard.  Also, I never use a brush that I want to clean in the end.  This brush will either be thrown away after use or reusable only for gold leafing.  

To apply the Liquid Leaf paint, I dabbed my brush in the paint slightly and then patted the drips into the lid a few times so that my brush was almost completely dry but still had a touch of paint on it.  Then I quickly and lightly grazed over each bead.  I obviously didn't want the beads to be covered in gold but to look like they had rubbed up against something gold.  I did this a couple of times until I thought my beads had a desirable amount of gold paint on each one.  I used same approach for the cross too.  I've seen some rosaries and decorative necklaces where the cross is solid gold or silver.  I love that look too!  And tada...


painted decorative beads and cross make the perfect gift!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

Here are some closeups of the finished product...
painted decorative beads and books make the perfect gift set!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

painted decorative beads and books make the perfect gift set!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

painted decorative beads and books make the perfect gift set!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

painted decorative beads and books make the perfect gift set!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

painted decorative beads and books make the perfect gift set!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com

I LOVE the way this turned out and I'm already thinking about some other color schemes I can use for my next one!

Here is a different one I made a while back for my Prayer Corner...
painted decorative beads and cross make the perfect gift!  More on how to DIY at www.lemonstolovelys.blogspot.com
Paint Colors: French Linen by ASCP & Liquid Leaf in Silver

I hope this gives you a money saving gift idea for that teacher who touched your child's life this year!  

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