We realised recently that in all the blog posts we have written, there wasn't one on how to make a glass pendant using a bail instead of a tray. This can be tricky sometimes as the back of the glass isn't always very attractive after you have glued on your image.
The simplest way by far is to cover it with something more attractive.
Here I will show you how I do it.
I had a beautiful little bird image that I glued onto a cabochon and let dry for, oh, about a year... not intentionally, I just had lots of these from a previous project!
I got some Glossy Accents, E6000 glue, some glitter and a bail.
The birdie cabochon was nice but a bit rought around the edges, and the paper was obviously too big for the cab, so a bit of cutting and tidying was in order. The dried glaze that had oozed out of the glass cracked as I cut it but as it would be covered again with more glaze, this did not bother me. You can find it easier to use a nail file to tidy up the edges.
It bothered me more that the edge of the paper was so bright white, so I painted it with a purple pen to match the glitter I had.
So far so tidy. No sharp edges, no visible paper, no ink onto the image. All good!
Next, I glued the bail onto the back using a smidgen of E6000 and ensuring it is nice and straight.
E6000 will leave 'hairs' so I used tweezers to remove these. You will see in the picture below a good blob of E6000 that doesn't look so good if left uncovered. If that is your intention, then you can always apply the E6000 with a tootpick onto the bail - just a small amount and none will seep out. Of course I didn't do it so elegantly here, but it doesn't matter as it will get covered up.
Once the E6000 was dry, I applied a layer of Glossy Accents....
And immediately sprinkled it with glitter so the entire glue surface was covered. Blow gently onto the piece so the excess glitter cleans off. The bail looks covered in this picture but it cleans up nicely when dry. You don't want to handle it too much at this stage as it will be very wet. I let this dry straight (aided by the tweezers!) for a good long while. A day or two is good.
When completely dry, apply another coat of Glossy Accents on the back. You don't really want to have bare glitter next to your skin or clothes. Again leave to dry. As this will be your top coat, look out for bubbles - keep a watch as they may not appear initally.
And there you go - a beautiful pendant, with a smooth glossy and professional looking back! The coat of glaze over the top (we used Glossy Accents again here) makes the glitter become more of a shimmer, a little more subdued. We like this effect a lot!
Other methods you can try for finishing the back:
- using ModPodge, cover with a decorative paper, and when dry, file the edges and apply a layer of glaze
- paint it
- try using a fabric covering instead of paper
- coat the back with a funky nail varnish
- decoupage the back with pieces of paper and ModPodge
- instead of glitter, try flocking material
- use a stamp and embossing powder
- if you sell these pieces, it's a good place to add your own signature, your logo or your website details
Show us how you make yours on our Facebook page @ jasminstudiocrafts.com!
