Hand-made Goodie of the Week: Scrabble Tile Pendants

These are one of my favorite craft projects.  They make great gifts.  To make your own, you'll need:

Wooden Scrabble-style tiles (I found mine at Michaels in the wooden shapes section)

Scrapbook paper, photos, whatever image you'd like to use (I used flowers from a tissue box-anything goes!)

Glue-on bails

Necklace cord or chain

Clasps

Utility knife

Hot glue, glue stick

Mod podge

Diamond Glaze-this can be hard to find, I suggest going to the Judi Kins (the manufacturer) site and locating a retailer
Thin cardboard
Pencil and sponge brush

Start by tracing your tile onto the cardboard, near the middle.  This will be your guide for cutting out the image you will use for your tile.

Using the utility knife, cut out the traced square.

Then, using your awesome new guide,

cut out the image that you want to use.  You can also just trace the tile around the image, but I prefer to use the guide-no lines that way.

Now it's ready to be glued onto your tile.

Here' where your glue stick comes in.  Apply a generous amount of glue to the back of your image-I like to put some glue on the tile as well.  You really want it stuck on there nice and good so your corners don't lift up and you don't get any bubbles when you Mod Podge it.  Press it on firmly, smoothing out any bubbles.

You might have some edges to trim up once it's glued on.  We'll get to that in a minute.

Once your image is glued on to your tile, apply a thin layer of mod podge, getting all around the edges of the tile, too.  This seals it and keeps your image from lifting or getting ruined.  Let it dry for about 20 minutes.

Once the mod podge is dry, turn it over and trim up any edges that are hanging off.  I like to wait until after I'v mod podged it because the mod podge makes the paper stiffer and easier to trim.  After trimming, apply another coat of mod podge.

Once the second coat of mod podge is dry, it's time for the diamond glaze.  This is what gives your pendant that cool raised look.  Start by outlining the edges (this is what keeps the diamond glaze from spilling over the sides of the tile) and then fill in the middle.  I recommend that before you start this step, you place your tile on a cookie sheet or something else that is flat, level and portable.  Diamond glaze takes up to 4 days to set so you'll need to put it somewhere it won't be disturbed.

Once your diamond glaze is dried and set, it's time to attach your bail.  Using a small dot of hot glue, glue the bail to the back of the tile.  Then string on your necklace and wear with pride!

If you're the instant gratification type and don't feel like waiting 4 days, you can check out the tile pendant selection in my shop.  And you can enter to win one here on Scraps and Scribbles-the giveaway ends at midnight tonight so hurry and get your entries in!