Acrylic Pendants

These might be the most rewarding thing I’ve made in a long time.  These look so real, so great, that nobody said, “Did you make that?”  Because they in no way look like something a person could just whip up at home. But that’s exactly what I did!  Leah made something similar a couple weeks ago, and I thought it was so beautiful, so I took myself to Hobby Lobby and bought the gear.  You need the bezel findings (is that what they’re called?  Bezel?  I know nothing about this and obviously the packaging is long gone.)  They’re the metal part of the jewelry, and they’re kind of shaped like a dish with a flat bottom.  Also, you need two-part acrylic, which you have to mix in equal parts like epoxy (I used this one.)

I cut out some circles from a piece of scrapbooking paper, popped them into the metal findings, and stuck the pieces in this dish of rice to keep them level.  Then I poured the mixed acrylic into the bezels.  It automatically formed a dome shape and there are only a few tiny bubbles.  (Maybe I didn’t wait long enough after mixing?)  Then the hard part—waiting three days for it to dry and cure, without touching it!  Wow, that was hard.  I must be about six years old. 

As usual, I want to make about a hundred of these.  I think some black and white photos would be so fantastic.  And cute portraits of the kids.  And tiny paintings—wait, no, tiny pieces of crochet!  Oh dear, I might not be able to keep the lid on this one.  Maybe I’d better go watch an episode of Hoarders…