How To Make a Domino Pendant

I had been wanting to make some domino pendants for quite some time. So one day, while in Starbucks waiting for my frappacinno, I was looking through their shelf of clearance items. After digging a bit, I uncovered a neat wooden box of bamboo dominoes. My imagination went to work and I decided they were the perfect for pendants! Starbucks is a treat for me anyway and finding these dominoes just made my day..I never get anything other than coffee (and rarely that) there because of the high prices but these dominoes were on clearance for 5 bucks so I just couldn't pass them up. So I left happy with frappuccino in one hand and bamboo dominoes in the other. I love these particular dominoes because they are not too thick and they are flat on both sides with no indentions or carving. The pendantsI made from them turned out really cute. This project can be made using any wooden dominoes I am sure as long as you can sand one side smooth enough for your image or picture...So grab your dominoes and let's get started!

• Wooden Dominoes
• Emory board or Small sander
• Paint
• Mod Podge
• Art or Picture
• EnviroTex Lite Resin or Diamond Glaze (optional)
• Bail
• E6000 Glue

Take your domino and sand. Starbucks dominoes are perfect for this! If your dominoes have indentions or are carved, you'll need to sand down to a smooth surface. You can round the corners if you like. Mine had square corners so I sanded the corners and rounded them a bit.

After sanding the domino, paint it the color of your choice. I used Folk Art acrylics to paint mine. So paint your domino and let dry.  While the paint is drying, this is a good time to cut out your art or photo for your pendant. A good way to do this is trace around the domino on top of whatever art or picture you want and then neatly cut it out. Once you have your art and your painted domino is dry, apply mod podge to the back of the art or photo and apply it to the domino. Make sure and press out all air bubbles under the image or photo and make sure it is completely adhered to the domino.

Once your domino is painted and your art is adhered to the domino go over the top of the domino two or three times with mod podge making sure to cover the entire image making sure to seal up your image really well and also apply a couple of coats coat around the sides and back to help seal your paint and protect the pendant.

After the mod podge is applied and the domino is dry and finished it is at this time that you can put a coat of resin, diamond glaze or something similar over the top of your domino to get a more finished look- These type products will create a thicker glass-like raised surface on your pendant. Resin, in my opinion, creates the best finish of the two. The extra coating with resin or diamond glaze is optional though. The few coats of mod podge should do just fine as far as sealing and protecting. You can even "build up" the mod podge to create a thicker coating on top. The resin or diamond glaze just gives it a more finished look. I pinky swear that the pendant will look great either way. It's whatever you prefer to do. After you are finished with your domino and it's all sealed and dry put a dab of E6000 glue on the bail and stick to the back of the domino and let dry for about a day. After it's dry, add a cord and your necklace is finished!

If you do choose to use Resin as a protective finish, a good resin to get is Envirotex Lite. You can get it at craft stores and it may seem high for the quantity but a little bit goes a long way. It doesn't smell bad and it's very easy to use. Just make sure and follow the directions very close and you can't go wrong.

The diamond glaze works as well but it is a bit harder to find for me. You may be able to find it easier. It's what they call a dimensional adhesive and it's Judikins Diamond Glaze and they have even a newer product I haven't tried called DG3. It is thick and dries crystal clear. Still not as good as resin in my opinion. There are a lot of similar type products like the diamond glaze that will work fine. I think one is called Triple Thick by Deco Art. It will give a thick crystal coating as well. If you google "thick clear finishes for pendants" or something similar that, it should bring lots of results.

Note: These pendants are water-resistant but NOT water proof. It's suggested to take off while showering or bathing or avoid submerging in water as this could damage the pendant even if you choose to use an additional coat of resin or diamond glaze :0)

I guess that about covers it! I hope that you find this tutorial helpful and easy to follow- as well as inspiring. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions! Would love to hear what everybody thinks about the pendants!

Happy Crafting!!

P.S.  Are you interested in learning how to make a bottle cap pendant? Visit my hub tutorial on How To Make a Bottle Cap Pendant!