How To Make A Glass Photo Pendant.
DIY Clear Glass Tile Photo Pendants and Jewelry
How To Make A Glass Tile Pendant - It's So Easy!
Have you ever wanted to know how to make a glass photo pendant? Well, you’re about to learn how. I have now been making glass photo jewelry and bottle caps for over 7 years now. I have made more pendants and necklaces than I have hair on my head, so I thought that I would create a DIY page dedicated to helping others learn how to make a glass tile pendant for themselves.
Before getting into the details of learning how to make a glass tile pendant, the first thing that you’ll need are some quality supplies. I buy all of my supplies from AnnieHowes.com, they’re an online craft supply store and they have everything that you need to make a high quality glass tile pendant. I've found them to be the nicest and most knowledgeable people with the best products. They ship super fast, too.
Here's a list of what you need to get started:
1. Clear Glass Tiles
2. Glamour Seal
3. Photos, printed artwork, scrapbook paper, or a printed picture
4. Pendant Tray Blanks (settings)
5. Glamour Stickies (omg! these are the best invention ever!)
6. Necklace chain
7. Standard supplies such as scissors or an X-acto blade, and cutting surface
What we will be doing is attaching a picture to a clear glass tile and then attaching that to a pendant tray. The necklace chain goes through a loop in the pendant tray which will complete our piece of jewelry. I learned how to make a glass tile pendant through trial and error, this tutorial will save you a lot of time and frustration, not to mention money.
First, select your picture that you would like to see on your glass photo pendant. As I mentioned in the beginning of how to make a glass photo pendant, you can use a photo printed at home (either laser or ink jet), a piece of scrapbook paper, or any printed picture that you like. If you choose to print your pictures yourself, always use matte card stock paper, 110# thickness. Cardstock paper is thicker than regular printer paper and works much better since it will not curl as easy when the glue touches it. Additionally, it won't get cloudy during the process. I usually place several pictures on the table in front of me and I take one of my clear glass tiles and lay it over the picture to see what my finished piece of jewelry might look like.
If you are printing your own pictures or photos and using an inkjet printer you will want to print on Epson Premium Presentation Paper Matte 51 lb paper. I buy this from Amazon.com. You can use other papers, but if you want the easiest way to make these with the best results, then you will want to use this paper. Avoid using glossy papers and DO NOT use MicroGlaze!!!
So the next thing that I do is open the Glamour Seal and put a drop on one side of my glass tile. I usually cover one side of the pendant glass completely with the Glamour Seal. It's better to have too much glue on your glass than not enough. You can always clean off excess glue, but if you don't have enough on there, then there's no way to add more later.
So now what I do is pick up the glass, turn it over and then press it down on my picture. The glue will now be in contact with the picture and the glass tile. This allows me to look through the glass and adjust it over my picture, ensuring that my pendant look perfect when worn. I do not press down on the glass, I simply let it float and I only press down gently if I need to move the glaze out to the edges more. Once adjusted, I let the glass sit for a couple of hours while the glaze dries.
Once the glaze is dry I then trim the excess paper from around the sides of the glass with a pair of scissors. Then I take a nail file and smooth out the edges of the paper making sure that the paper is not hanging over the edge of the glass. I then put a thin layer of glaze over the paper to seal it, once the paper is covered with glaze I let it sit for an hour or so to dry.
The next step can be done one of two ways.
1). Put a drop of glue on the pendant tray. I simply put some glue on the pendant tray and then press the decorated glass into the pendant setting. It only takes a small amount.
2) Peel and stick a pre-cut Glamour Stickies shape on the back of the decorated glass and press into the pendant tray. Instantly finished! SERIOUSLY!!! This is the BEST way to do this!
Now, all that I have left to do is slip on a necklace and my glass photo pendant is ready to wear.
I hope that this little tutorial on how to make a glass photo pendant has helped you. glass photo pendants are easy to make and fun to wear.
TIP: If you aren't happy with your finished piece, soak the glass and start over.