D.I.Y Designer Series The New York Times
June 2020
By Jessica Testa
Go back to the basics -- sketching and painting -- and play around with some new materials.
Here, Ms. Neuwirth used one of her spring 2020 designs as inspiration for a colorful one-of-a-kind necklace. She completed the project in about three hours, she said, "with pauses to take the dogs out, sit in the yard, answer emails."
Your tool kit:
- A watercolor paint set
- Scissors
- Plain white paper
- Double-sided tape
- Thin ribbon, twine or something similar to use as a chain-- about 30 inches in length
Step 1: Make the Flowers
On white sheets of paper, Ms. Neuwirth drew seven distinct flowers, using her turquoise tropical flower cuff as a guide. Then she painted each flower in shades of blue, pink or yellow.
Draw each flower in slightly varying sizes with the largest being about 3 inches in diameter. Ideally no two blossoms will look exactly alike; that's the charm of the project.
Fill in each with watercolor -- either the summery palate Ms. Neuwirth chose of your own combination of colors. Let the flowers dry before cutting out each one.
Step 2: Make the chain
Using your double-sides tape, fasten the back of each flower onto your ribbon or twine.
Arrange the flowers so that they're all touching, with some edges slightly overlapping.
Tie the ends of the ribbon in a bow.
