Gallimaufry Grove: DIY Glass Tile Necklaces

Every year for Mother's Day, our church likes to give a small gift to all the moms. Sometimes we buy something ready made, but often I will make something for them. This year I happened upon this fun little project and thought it would be great for them. Every lady needs a Glass Tile Necklace, right?

There are already some great tutorials out there in Bloggerville, so I really shouldn't add mine to the mix -- but I will anyway, because I'm extra busy right now and need something else to add to my already full plate. Or something like that.

I read a couple great blog posts from other bloggers before I started. I highly recommend you check them out. Their photography is better and their instructions are probably better, too. I am humbled.

I bought my supplies from Sun and Moon Crafts. The prices were great and I think they are in league with Santa Clause. I'm pretty sure they dropped my order through my chimney about an hour after I ordered. Okay, maybe they aren't that fast, but I got my order in under a week. Amazing.

If you want to make some Glass Tile Necklaces to grace your neck, or to give as gifts, you are going to need a few supplies.

Glass Tiles (you can use squares, rectangles, ovals, or even hearts)

Bails (thats the little hanger thingy that attaches to the back of the glass so you can hang it on a chain)

Necklaces (because without it, this would just be a pretty glass tile)

Paper Glaze or Diamond Glaze. I used Sun and Moon's brand.

Decorative papers (a heavier weight resists buckling better than a thin paper)

I needed to make nearly 50 Glass Tile Necklaces. Finding the pictures for them was fun. I didn't want any two to be alike, so I did a lot of hunting. I selected papers and pictures that I thought would fit well under the tile.

I used the tile to trace out my papers. This makes the paper slightly too big, so I carefully trimmed them. This was an extra step, I know, but it allowed me to position the design exactly as I wanted it to look when I was done.

Next, I poured out a bit of the glaze. With a small paintbrush, I painted the back of a tile and positioned the paper on the glaze, being careful not to get too much on the edges. It helps to be somewhat liberal with the glue. You don't want it pouring off or anything, but the paper slides easier for positioning if there is enough glue and it's easier to get the air bubbles out. You want to make sure you get all the air bubbles out or your end product won't be as nice. Once my paper was positioned, I painted a coat on the back of the paper. I also made sure to seal the edges of the paper to the edges of the tile.

After that layer of glaze was dry I took the bottle of glaze and actually dripped it right onto the tile. I used a toothpick to spread it a little if necessary. I was careful not to get so much that it ran over the sides, but enough to sort of well up. The glaze is self leveling, so it gives the back a smooth, glass-like finish.

I let that dry overnight. Then I flipped them over and began the clean up work. I don't consider myself a messy worker, but somehow the glaze just sort of migrated to the fronts of many tiles. Sigh. Personally, I think it was evil mice. Or something. If you have evil mice at your house, flip your tiles over and carefully scrape off the excess glaze with your fingernail. (For the record, we don't have mice. But I have to blame someone, and it would be mean to blame my kids.)

Once everything is dry and cleaned, it's time to attach the bails. My bails and necklaces were a gun-metal finish. I put a little E6000 on a toothpick and spread it on the bail. Then I positioned the bail on the back of the tile. Make sure you position it correctly and not off-center or upside-down. Not that you would ever do that.

Let your pendants dry for a few hours or overnight. You're on the home stretch!!

Now all you need to do is attach your necklaces and you're all done! Well, you're all done except for deciding which one to wear...

I hope the Ladies liked them. Next time I will show you the gift packages I made for these and how I made a super easy display table. The center piece would be easy to use for other decorative applications, too.