I'm making this necklace for a Christmas gift and decided to take you with me through the process.
This is a great last minute gift. You can make the pendant in an evening, allow it to dry overnight and attach the chain the next morning.
It makes a wonderful gift because not only can it be personalized with the recipient's initial but also with the bezel and color of nail polish.
There is a plethora of bezels available, many different styles, shapes and sizes
(here is a link to my bezel section), making it easy to find the perfect one.
What you need -
Tools and Materials:
Bezel
Clear glass cabochon that fits inside the bezel - I used a dragon bezel that I sell with the glass cab. Here
26g wire - 2" should be more than enough - I used silver
Nail polish - I used L.A. Colors in Jewel Tone
Clear topcoat - I used L.A. Colors - Diamond
Round nose pliers
Chasing hammer
Anvil
Chain - the length you want
3 Jump rings
Clasp - I used a lobster claw
Pen
Small sheet of paper
E6000 or 2 part epoxy
Let's get started!
Lay the glass cabochon on a sheet of paper and trace around it with a pen or pencil.
Draw the letter you want to use inside the cab outline to create a guide.
Lay the cab on top of the guide to get an idea of how the letter will look.
You can trace the letter with your wire or just use your drawing to refer to as you freehand the wire letter.
Lay the cab over the completed wire letter to check for size.
Place the wire letter on the anvil and gently hammer both sides with the chasing hammer.
You need to flatten the letter slightly but 26g wire breaks easily so tap the wire lightly.
Hammering may distort the letter a bit, just reshape it as needed.
Paint a thin layer of top coat on the back of the cab. Place the wire letter on the back of the cab, making sure to put the letter on upside down. Once the top coat is tacky (about a minute), press the letter down with your fingernail or the round nose pliers. Hold the letter down for approx. 45 seconds. When the top coat is dry, paint another layer of top coat on the back of the cab, painting over the wire as well.
*Please Note* This is what happens if you don't press the letter down and don't apply the second layer of top coat. The nail polish will ooze under the letter and ruin the piece. As you can see, I learned this the hard way.
Paint a thin layer of nail polish on the back of the cab. Continue to add thin layers until the polish is opaque, allowing it to dry between layers.
Apply glue to the bezel, place the cab inside. Allow to dry completely.
Place a jump ring on the bezel. Place a jump ring on one end of the chain. Thread the chain through the jump ring on the bezel. Place a jump ring and the clasp on the other end of the chain.
And...You are done!
Thank you for visiting!
