DIY: Dyed Wooden Beads

Photo by Magda

The thing about when we tie-dyed the t-shirts for the Fouth of July...we used Rit Dye--which is awesome stuff.  Really, I love their colors so much.  I love dyeing things so much!!  But the thing is, you have to make a lot of dye, (and I hate to waste it...) So, I was scrambling around the house trying to figure what else I could dye.  I found an old, beat up, off-white tablecloth that I thought would be a great candidate and then I remembered that I had these wooden beads.  

They are PERFECT for dying.  

(full disclosure: I found the craft on Martha's website about a year ago--and made strings of beads as a gift for a friend.  I thought they turned out nicely, so I wanted to do it again.) So, since I had some left over...I dyed some wooden beads.  It couldn't be easier.  You can get the specific directions from Martha here.

I used 1 inch oval and 1 inch round beads.

I strung them on wire...

and secured the ends.

Rit comes in many, many awesome colors...

Followed the directions to dye them...

good idea to use rubber gloves or you will have blue fingers!

Hang to dry.

Once fully dried, you spray with a Polyurethane spray...to seal.

Photo by Magda!

And string on a leather cord...you are done!!  I like the idea of layering different colors  of necklaces --it is quite dramatic.  Do check out Martha's site for much more detailed instructions...its a fun and inexpensive project that looks really nice!!