DIY: From Ugly To Adorable

I'm always looking for affordable trendy costume jewelry. I usually lust after pieces from j.crew but often can't afford them, or feel like something may be a passing trend that I'll get over quickly enough to not want to spend much money on. So often I run into pieces that are almost fabulous, but have  something hideous on them that ruins them completely! I recently found myself in this situation- I found a nearly adorable necklace at Forever 21 for $10.80. (what a deal!) So I got crafty and turned it into a fabulous find! Here's how I did it:

Yikes, those dangling pearls! But the rhinestone part is super cute...

Here's where I get crafty. I pulled out my needle nose pliers and went to town on those offensive pearls! They were simply connected with o-rings so they came right off! I then realized that I could salvage the middle gold/rhinestone beads for a future project...

Looks like I'll get 2 pieces of jewelry for $10.80! Score!

And after a few minutes of work here is the final product! Cute! I've worn the necklace a few time and love it! 

Here's a super grainy pic of me wearing it... sorry about the image quality!

-kara