Become the Red Lady with this DIY Melisandre Necklace instructable!

This instructable will teach you how to make an iconic Game of Thrones wardrobe accessory for a Melisandre Halloween costume.

This is a very inexpensive version of her gold necklace that you can make without any metalworking knowledge =)

('Game of Thrones' and the character"Melisandre" are trademark/copyright/property of HBO

Step 1: Materials

AP certified non-toxic water based Gold Paint

Yellow craft foam

Cardboard

Tiny brads

Hot glue

Red acrylic stone

Jewelry Wire

Ruler

Scissors

Pen

Step 2: Making the Rings

Measure your acrylic jewel

Design a ring that will fit loosely around the jewel on a piece of sturdy cardboard.

Cut out a template for this design and trace onto yellow foam

Cut out 7 rings.

If you have to do some trimming on the middle ring - keep it minimal.

Step 3: Wire

Use jewelry wire (Gold if you can find it) to hold the jewel and to make a loop for the ribbon to tie to.

I twisted 2 groups of wire four strands each then criss corssed them and twisted the middle together.

For the end loops, Take 2 strands of wire, twist together and then twist the frayed ends to form a circle. Later -Cross over and under one of the rings to make an attachment for your ribbon.

Step 4: Jewel Attachment

Hot glue a small red piece of paper to the back of your jewel.

Hot glue your cross wire piece to the back of the paper. Trim off excess glue with scissors.

Wrap any loose ends around the ring that will serve as your center of the necklace. Of course, the non-glued side will be facing outwards when attached to the necklace.

Step 5: Arrange and Glue

Cut extension pieces 1" long to fit between the rings.

You will need two pieces between each ring.

Next cut the wire parts off the back of the brads. Hot glue 4 brads on each ring.

The middle jewel and ring hang a little lower than the rest of the necklace. Adjust the connectors on either side of the jeweled piece to 45 degrees. All other links will be straight across.

Use strips of cardboard to reinforce the middle ring and the connecting pieces on either side. Hot glue all connectors and rings. Hot glue will also help keep the necklace from sliding on the wearer's skin.

Reinforce the whole backside of the necklace with a strand of hot glue. Add hot glue where there needs to be reinforcement. Let dry and pick off glue strings. You may have to cut glue blobs to keep edges looking sharp.

Step 6: Painting

I recommend using a non-toxic, water-based gold craft paint to coat the front of your necklace.

To save time you can mask off the front of your jewel with hot glue. It will peel right off after the paint is dry.

You may have to recoat with the gold water-based paint several times because the foam seems to soak up paint.

I thought it would be easier to spray paint this at first. Yes, it was easier but there needs to be a barrier between the spray paint and the skin. If you do a coat of gold spray paint, top it off with non-toxic water based gold paint.

Step 7: Tie

Cut about 10" of gold ribbon and tie a knot on the ends. Loop through the wire loops and tie on the back of the neck.

Step 8: Wear !

Enjoy your new accessory for cosplay or Halloween! The night is dark and full of terrors!

What I learned -

The lighter weight jewel you can find, the better. It was hard to find a red jewel. I found one in an antique store but they can be bought on Amazon too.

Foam tends to stretch, especially in this shape. Extra reinforcement never hurt so if you need you can add cardboard (or a different material) to the back off all the rings and connectors (especially if the jewel you found is heavy).

Do not use gold pen on any surface that will be touching skin. It will come off on your skin!

Hot glue is my friend.