Kids will love making these lava bead diffuser jewelry sets! They make the perfect handmade gift for Mother’s Day, Christmas or any occasion. Put a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil on each lava bead (my favorite is lavender) and you have a personal essential oil diffuser with you all day!
My daughter and I made these sets together, we made one set adult size and one kid size, and we had a lot of fun at the bead store choosing just the right colors and beads.
We love making handmade gifts for family and friends, check out our collection of awesome kid-made gift ideas for more inspiration.
Make your own lava bead diffuser jewelry
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Start with a bracelet
You will need
- beads in your choice of colors and sizes, I found that having the beads mostly the same size worked well for us
- lava beads
- stretchy bead cord, .5mm or .7mm works best
- craft adhesive (to be used by an adult only!)
1. Cut your stretchy bead cord a few inches more than you need to make it easier to tie at the end. If you don’t know the exact size of the wrist you are making it for, that’s ok, using the stretchy cord allows for a bit of a range.
We made our women’s bracelet about 9 inches and our kid-sized one about 7.5 inches. This made them fit but not too tight.
2. Tape one end of your stretchy cord to a table, I find this helps make it easier for kids to string the beads.
3. Design your bracelets and layout your beads first, making sure to measure the length. We used 3 lava beads for each of our bracelets. Put the lava beads down first and then work your design around them.
4. Once you are done designing your bracelet, you can string the beads. After you are done stringing your bracelet, measure it again just to make sure you have the right length.
5. Tie 2 or 3 knots in your bracelet and make sure to pull tight securing each knot as you go. Or you can use a surgeon’s knot (super easy!), which will help keep it secure. Don’t trim the ends just yet.
6. This next part needs to be done by an adult only. You want to make sure that your knot stays extra secure, so you are going to put just a dab of super glue on the knot. You need to stretch the bracelet out a bit so no beads are touching the knot (like the picture above), dab on the glue and then hold for a minute while the glue dries.
Once the glue is dry you can then trim the ends of your string. And there you go, your beautiful lava bead bracelets are finished!
Now move on to making your necklace
You will need
- beads in your choice of colors and sizes
- lava beads
- stretchy bead cord, .5mm or .7mm works best
- cord for the top part of your necklaces such as leather cord, satin cord or ribbon of your choice
- any embellishments that you want to use like tassels or charms
- craft adhesive (to be used by an adult only!)
1. For the necklace, you will have to decide on the type of bead string you want to use. We used a stretchy colored beading cord, that looks good with no beads on it.
Other great ideas are leather cord, satin cord, or ribbon. Any bead store or local craft store will have lots of options to choose from.
2. We used 4 lava beads for each of our necklaces. Again, layout your lava beads on the table first and create your design around them. The length of your necklace is up to you, and a lot more forgiving than the bracelets.
Our beaded portion of the necklaces ended up being about 8 inches, but yours can be any size you like depending on your design.
Related: Super Cute DIY Friendship Bracelets Kids Can Make.
3. Once you are done stringing your necklace, tie a knot on both ends but don’t trim the ends just yet. You could also dab a bit of adhesive on the knots to make them extra secure. Remember to pull the beads away from the knot and hold the knot away while the glue dries.
4. Measure out the top portion of your necklace cord, leaving extra room to tie knots. Our women’s necklace cord ended up being about 19.5 inches and our kid-sized one was about 15.5 inches after everything was trimmed.
5. Tie the beaded portion to your necklace cord making sure to pull the knots tight. Depending on the type of cord that you used, you might want to put a dab of glue on the knots to help keep them secure.
6. Next, you want to trim the ends of all your strings.
7. If you have any embellishments to put on, you can do that now. I put a tassel on the purple necklace and it looks really great! Any type of charm or initial would also look nice. I used beading pliers for this part, so it’s best if an adult does this.
We had so much fun making these diffuser jewelry sets, my daughter is planning on giving the purple set to her Grandma for Christmas. She loves the pink set so much, she wants to keep it for herself.
More DIY jewelry crafts kids will love
How to Make Stamped Polymer Clay Necklaces
Clay Jewelry Dishes Stamped with Spices
Follow me on Pinterest for more great ideas!
Pin this jewelry project for later
Kelli
These are so great! I need to make a few I think.
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Kelli!
Dana Tatar
I’m happy to see a kid craft on this hop! My daughters will love this project. Thanks for sharing!
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Dana! I hope you and your daughters give this a try. 🙂
Chelsea @ Making Manzanita
These turned out great!! Very creative gift idea. Thanks 🙂
ProjectswithKids
Thank you so much Chelsea!
Patti
Fragrance and jewelry is a winning combination!
ProjectswithKids
I agree Patti!
Beverly Jordan
1Great craft project for beginners or kids!! Love the bright pink especially
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Beverly, I also love that one!
Sue D
Very cute diffuser jewelry and thanks for the gift envelopes.
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Sue and you’re welcome. 🙂
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled
Very neat! I’d love any gift that brings more sleep and calm, lol! Visiting from Handmade Holidays.
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Victoria! I agree, more sleep is always good. 🙂
Cat
I have never heard of these before. What an interesting gift idea!
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Cat!
Pam Larmore
These are beautiful! I love essential oils and might have to try this.
ProjectswithKids
Thanks Pam! They are really so easy and fun to make, I hope you give them a try. 🙂
ProjectswithKids
Thanks Carrie!! I appreciate your support. 🙂
Courtney
Omg how cute!!!! I love how colorful the beads are!!!!
ProjectswithKids
Thank you so much Courtney!
Shann Eva
These are so awesome! I’ve never heard of lava beads before, so I’ll have to buy some. I’ve just started using oils on my son to calm him down, and they really work. I’d love to make him a bracelet, and have him make some as presents too. Great idea!
ProjectswithKids
Thanks Shann! You should definitely try making these with your son, they are so easy and always turn out great! 🙂
Toni | Small Home Soul
So cute, and I love that you can customize the color and scent for each person. What a great craft to make with your kiddos.
ProjectswithKids
Thanks Toni!
Victoria Banaszak
What a cool idea for doing with the kiddos. They love to make things and will be so proud of their creation. Thank you for the gift envelopes too.
ProjectswithKids
Thank you Victoria! I hope you enjoy the gift envelopes. 🙂
Bree
Thanks for the giveaway! Love those lava beads! Will have to check them out next time I’m in Michaels!
ProjectswithKids
You’re welcome Bree! I love the bead section at Michaels, so many cool beads and ideas!
Rebecca
Those lava beads are really cool looking. And thanks for the good tips on making a bead necklace. My kids will have so much fun with this.
Michele KidCongeniality
Very pretty. My favorite would be lavender as well.
Marta Rice
Such a lovely idea! I love the jewels and the lavender is just awesome!