While Tom Binns’ painted Swarovski necklaces are absolutely gorgeous, they are more than a little outside this grad student’s budget. Exhibit A: this version on NET-A-PORTER, retailing for a measly $2,165. I’ve seen some reasonably inexpensive neon options, like this piece from Ann Taylor or this one from Adia Kibur, but I was still wary of shelling out even $50-60 bucks.

Enter the DIY. Taking some color inspiration from Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere’s vintage collar necklace seen here, I picked up this inexpensive necklace from Forever 21 the other day and sat down to make my own version.

What did I discover? This is super easy. It does require some patience and attention to detail, but the results are worth it.

1. Purchase necklace (some other options here, here, J. Crew-ish here, and a little Dannijo-esque here).
2. Pick out nail polish colors. I chose to stick with three similar colors (that were already a part of my collection), but the variety in the inspiration piece would also be fun.
3. Paint! Remember patience and attention to detail. Think about how you want to lay out your colors ahead of time to avoid mispainting. I chose to leave a few of the rhinestones unpainted to keep some sparkle. (Don’t worry about small imperfections. They will be imperceptible to others! Everyone will be too mesmerized by how stunning your necklace is, duh.)
4. Let completely dry.  I then sprayed mine with a multi-purpose latex finish I picked up at Michael’s for another project a few months back. Mine was matte, which did dull the crystals I left unpainted (lesson learned and easily remedied with a quick coat of top coat nail polish), so something like this glossy version would be better. (This step is probably unnecessary, but I wanted to make sure I gave it a little extra protection against potential scratching or chipping.)
5. Wear your awesome necklace out and about, and get ready for all your friends to ask where they can get one too!

Total cost of project? $14.80. Booya.