Awhile back, I bought a pretty pendant on Etsy.com because I couldn't resist the Queen of Hearts theme. I'm really not a mad poker player, but I enjoy the card theme, proving once again that customers like me really enjoy themed jewelry. (COPYRIGHT: I'm so sorry to have to put this here, but I've had trouble with online content theft. Readers are welcome to print my articles for their personal use, but I do not allow my text or photos to be copied to anyone's online site. No one may use my content without written permission from me.)
Anyway, the pendant was made by a vendor named Grey Cat from a glass tile, a small image, a bail (the metal loop on the pendant), a ball chain, and adhesive. I like my Queen of Hearts pendant, and thought it would be fun to try to make another glass tile pendant.
The first photo shows the Grey Cat pendant from the front, and the second shows it from the back where the bail is glued in place. The back looks covered with a colorful cardstock and sealed in place with some kind of heat treatment. However, you could do it as I have with a product like Diamond Glaze™ or Modge Podge®.
This is a great project for kids. It requires no prior knowledge, it's not so intricate that they'll get frustrated, it can appeal to either boys or girls depending upon the images they choose to use, and they get to make something fun to wear in a short period of time.
Time of Project: Thirty minutes, tops.
Technical Knowledge: No prior knowledge required.Materials:
- One glass tile, square. Available from Etsy.com. Mine and Grey Cat's measured 2 centimeters square and about 4 millimeters thick. Have a couple on hand in the unlikely event that one gets dropped and stepped on. You never know.
- One silver bail. Have a couple of those on hand in case one drops off the table and gets swallowed by the dog. Again, you never know.
- Adhesive. I used Diamond Glaze™ which is fast-drying and not stinky.
- An image, preferably a photograph or non-smudgeable drawing close to the same size as your glass tile. A postage stamp is ideal.
- Something to thread through the bail so the pendant can be worn. Depending upon what stringing material you use, you can increase the appeal for either boys or girls. Boys might want something rugged like a leather cord or a ball chain, and girls might want a satin cord or a ribbon.
Step 1: Choose an Image. Postage stamps work well for this project. You don't want to use something that can be smudged such as a tiny charcoal sketch or watercolor because you're going to put adhesive directly on your image and then press it to the glass tile. Since you'll be viewing this image through a glass tile that is about 4 to 5 millimeters thick, you want to pick a colorful basic image that will show up well. I choose an American flag postage stamp.
Step 2: Trim the Image. Put the glass tile on top of your postage stamp or other image to determine where you need to trim the image. You want it to be close, but slightly smaller in outline, than the glass tile itself. I made a mistake and trimmed mine a little too closely as you can see in the photos.
Step 3: Attach the Image to the Tile. Apply a thin layer of Diamond Glaze™ to the front surface of your image (that is, the side that you want to see). Press the glass tile on top of the adhesive-coated image, being careful to center the image. You will now be able to look through the tile and see the image on display. Let it dry for about ten minutes.
Step 5: Attach the Bail. Turn the tile over so that you can see the back of your image. Apply a thin line of Diamond Glaze™ along the edges of your image to seal it to the glass tile. Apply another thin layer to the flat part of the bail. You want to center the bail on the top edge of the back side of your glass tile. The loop of the bail should not protrude backwards and out from the back side of the tile. It should face forward and sit snugly on top of the edge of the tile. Let everything dry for another ten or twenty minutes. Apply more Diamond Glaze™ as necessary along those back edges of your image.
And you're done! As far as lessons-learned go, I wish I hadn't trimmed my image as far in as I did. I think Grey Cat's pendant looks better with the Queen image perfectly matched to the tile.
