Crackle Glass Pebble Pendants - Simple Gifts

This is one of those crafts that you make, and it's very gratifying.  These pendants are so pretty, and they are so versatile that they can easily become your favorite accessory.  I made several that were just clear glass, and the people who received them as gifts immediately said they were their go-to item when they needed a simple but elegant accessory. 

These are made with glass pebbles that are found in the floral and decorating department at places like Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels.  You can find several colors to accessorize your outfits, represent a birth month, or they can look festive and fun for an upcoming holiday.  

Bake them in the oven, shock them into cracking with ice water, glue on a bail, and poof you're done!  See the specific instructions below.  Now have some fun! 

Here's how to make them.  

Crackle Glass Pebble Pendants

• Glass pebbles (I do many at a time so that I have them ready made)
• Wire glue-on bails (instructions on how to make these HERE)
• E6000 glue or Super Glue
• Chain, ribbon, or leather for necklace 
• Bowl of ice water 
• Cookie sheet or aluminum pan 
• Towel 

INSTRUCTIONS:  Place the glass pebbles in a pan in a single layer.  I do several at a time to save on energy and to make sure I have them ready for future crafts.  Place the glass pebbles in the oven, and turn it to 500 degrees.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Have ice water ready.  When pebbles come out of the oven, immediately dump them into the ice water.  They will sizzle, bubble, and some may even break, but the rest will begin to crackle.  Leave in the water for about 5-10 minutes, to allow pebbles to cool completely and finish crackling process.  Remove from water and drain on a towel. 

When ready to make, flip pebble over, and glue on one bail using E6000 glue, centering so pendant will hang evenly. 

Allow to dry/cure for 4 hours, preferably 24 hours.  Flip over and add necklace, then wear.  These are adorable as short pendants strung on a ribbon choker, or worn as a long statement necklace.  

Turn Your Children's Artwork into Jewelry - Simple Gifts

 

Do you have a particularly darling piece of artwork that your child has made and would like some way to preserve it and even possibly show it off?  Or how about share it with Grandma or Aunt Susie?  You can easily turn your child's artwork into a pendant!  All it takes is a few art supplies! 

SUPPLIES NEEDED: 

• Scanned or photographed artwork
• Glass pebbles or stones from Dollar Tree or other floral supply/aquarium supply places
• Printed artwork (see below)
• Aleene's Clear Tacky craft glue
• One glue-on bail per pendant (see instructions HERE)
• Mod Podge
• E6000 adhesive
• Clear spray paint or clear nail polish.

First, you will need to scan or photograph your child's artwork and save the image to your computer.  You can also take it to Walmart and use their photo printing machines to make tiny photos.  If you download it to your computer, use either Microsoft Word or photo software such as Picasa (free) to resize and retouch the picture.  You will likely need to boost the saturation and contrast to make the colors more vivid. Use the setting that prints showing the entire photo. 

Print out photos in 1 x 1 inch or 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares.  Cut out each photo, and leave enough room so that a little paper is available to stick out on each side of the photo.

Coat the back of the glass marble with the clear tacky glue.  You can use Mod Podge, but it risks smearing the ink because Mod Podge takes longer to dry.  Press the glass to the photo firmly so that the entire photo is adhered to the back of the pebble and there are no bubbles.  

Allow to dry completely, at least a couple of hours.  Once dry, trim excess paper from around glass, and apply 2 thin coats of Mod Podge.  Thin coats are better than thick coats because they take longer to dry and can cause the colors to deteriorate if too much is applied.  

Allow to dry thoroughly between each coat of Mod Podge.  Once dry, secure glue-on bail to the back of the pendant, making sure that the stem and bail stick up at an appropriate point to make the pendant hang straight.  Again, allow to dry thoroughly.  

Once the glue-on bail has completely dried (I recommend 24 hours), coat the entire back of the pendant with either spray-on clear acrylic spray paint (I use Walmart's generic brand) or coat with clear nail polish.  Doing so will give a nearly waterproof seal, as Mod Podge is water soluble and can eventually come off if not sealed.  Allow to dry thoroughly.  

Once completely dry, flip over, and string your wonderful creation on ribbon, chain, a leather cord, or satin rat tail cord.  It will become a darling, personalized keepsake to show off your child's artwork!

Wire Wrapped Glass Pebble Pendant - Easy Christmas Gift

Wire wrapped glass pendants are a fun and easy gift you can make with relatively inexpensive items.  The sloppier the design, the prettier it is, and despite how complicated they look, they're really easy to make.  They make beautiful gifts, and you can whip them out in just a few minutes once you get the hang of this.  

I'll give a list of items below, and then try to show step-by-step how it's done.  The only part I do not have pictures of is the actual placement of the wires simply because I needed two hands to hold everything in place and couldn't really take photos.  So here we go! 

Materials Needed 

• Glass pebbles or river stone from Dollar Tree or any other dollar store.  See HERE  ($1.00 per bag)
• Jewelry wire for wire wrapping.  I prefer Artistic Wire in 20 gauge silver nontarnish. (This link says $5.99, but I got it for $2.99 on sale.)
• A 3-in-one jewelry plier tool from Walmart

**or **

• Needle-nose pliers (may need to wrap the tips with tape if using on jewelry wire so the wire doesn't get scarred)
• Wire Snips 
• Tweezers 
• Necklace chain, silk cord, leather cord, or ribbon, about 24 inches in length.

INSTRUCTIONS (Click on Photos for Larger views):

Cut two lengths of wire approximately 1 foot long.

Begin bending them in a loopy zigzag pattern, leaving tails on either end.  

(Photos show loopy wire and sizes of glass pebbles. )

Lay wires in a cross pattern, and center one pebble in the middle. 

This is the trickiest part of this whole thing, but it will be fine. The glass can be slippery!  

Begin folding the wires up and over the pebble, overlapping the wires, bending and smooshing them together.  The wires need to be enmeshed.  Form a cage around the stone.  Grab the pliers or tweezers and bend the wires around each other.  For example, bring a loop up through another and then bend it back over.  Leave two wires long at the top for use to make the bail later on.  If needed, use the loose ends for the bottom and side pieces to loop back through or snip off and use elsewhere.  Curl the ends of any loose wires, and tuck them in against the glass.  

Cut short lengths of wire from the spool and use to bridge a gap between two loops of wire if there is a space where the glass could "escape."  Again, curl the ends under, then twist the wire and tuck it snug against the glass (see photo below).  The piece is sticking out so that you could see how I passed the short wire piece between the two.  I curled it further and tucked in the pieces.

Once the wire is shaped around the glass the way that you like, it's time to make the bail at the top of the pendant.  

I used a ball-point pen and wrapped the two wires around it one full wrap.  I have exaggerated how the wires come off this so that you can see how they come back around.  You'll want the wire to be as close to the base as possible.  

With the pen still inside the wire loop, begin wrapping the two wires around the base in a concentric spiral fashion until all of the remaining wire has been used.  Curl ends of wire and tuck under the bottom of the bail.  Straighten and center bail as necessary. 

This doesn't have to be neat, just so long as it is held securely. 

If you feel this needs a little more security for the glass, use tiny dabs of E6000 glue on a toothpick.  Place it between the wire and the glass. A little E6000 goes a very long way.  Allow to dry/cure for approximately 24 hours before wearing.  

Another way to "tighten" wires is to put the pliers (or tweezers) in the middle of a piece of wire and twist slightly to form a crook.  See before and after photos below.  This takes up any excess slack in the wire and lends an artistic appearance. 

Suspend this from a chain, ribbon, silk cord, or strip of leather tied off.  These are very pretty, unique, and no two are alike.  

Here is another pendant that I made using one strip of wire in the zigzag pattern, then wrapped around the glass pebble.   It has a single-loop bail.  I made it, thought that it needed a little bit more umph, and put some artistic crooks in the wire with the tightening technique I talked about above.

ONE FINAL NOTE:   You will always be your own worst critic, so do not be overly critical of your design.  If you feel like it doesn't look good, put it away for a day or so, and then look at it again or show someone else to gauge their opinion.  You can always add more wire or bend the wires in a different way that is more pleasing.  Remember, have fun, and don't be afraid to ad lib!

That's it!!