Scrabble Pendant Tutorial!

Hi everyone! I've had a lot of people ask me how to make my scrabble pendants, so I thought I'd just make a little tutorial for you. It took me quite a while to figure it out myself, gathering bits and pieces of information here and there. This is my first tutorial ever, so I'll give it my best shot!

Here we go!

First I'll go through all the things you'll need.

Scrabble pieces of course! I got mine at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Make sure the ones you are using are clean. If they have been used a lot, sometimes they have a layer of grime that just won't do!

Jewelry Bails

I got mine off of Ebay, from Art Glass Decor. I use the Large Silver Plated Jewelry Bails.

Diamond Glaze

I also got mine from ebay. I honestly can't remember the exact shop, but if you type in Diamond Glaze you'll find many places to choose from.

Mod Podge

You'll need this to coat your little pictures that go on the scrabble piece. You can get this at any craft store or even Walmart.

Gorilla Super Glue
This is what I've been using lately, but there are plenty of other adhesives that will work. This one dries SUPER quick, so if you need more than a couple seconds to place the bail on, then you might want to go with something that dries slower. Aleene's Platinum Bond 7800 Adhesive works well, but I would let it dry overnight before handeling.

Now that you know what you'll need, on with the actual process.

First you will need your image. I use an HP printer with Vivera ink that is water resistant. If you are not using water resistant ink then you may run into a problem with the next step. A magazine clipping works well too.

Now you're going to give your picture a protective coating of Mod Podge. Starting with the back of your little picture, brush on a thin coat of the Mod Podge and let dry. Repeat for a second coat. After that is completely dry, turn over and repeat!

Now attach your picture to the scrabble piece. Simply brush some Mod Podge on the wood and carefully place the picture on to the tile.

Center the picture and press down all edges. Sometimes I turn the whole thing over and press down onto a clean surface so that it's evenly pressed flat.

Now put one last of coat over the top to seal it onto the wood. Let it dry thoroughly.

Next, starting at any corner, gently squeeze a line of Diamond Glaze around the perimeter of the tile. You may want to get it started by squeezing a bit out on to a paper towel so any bubbles come out first.

Fill in the middle with Diamond Glaze. There will probably be bubbles. Sometimes you can avoid them if you are really careful, but usually there are some you'll just have to deal with.

There will most likely be a bunch of teeny-tiny bubbles. You'll need to be really picky and get them out! Once the glaze dries the bubbles will be way more noticable, so it's very important to get as many out as possible. Taking a tooth-pick, carefully round up the bubbles and pull to a corner. From there you can either pull them out or lift them off.

Let it dry overnight. I would cover it somehow to prevent dust from settling on it.

Now you can attach the bail. Just put a dab of glue on the bail itself and center it on the back of the tile. Let dry for several hours.

Voilà!

Let me know if you have any questions whatsoever!

Of course I have a bunch of these for sale in my Etsy shop featuring my art! They are all made by me and initialed on the back.

Enjoy!