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How to Make Glass Cabochon Art or Photo Pendants

How to make a photo pendant

You can make a really pretty pendant using printed images of your choice with just a few simple tools and materials. I will share some of the things I've learned making mine, including what not to do so you don't make the same mistakes I did when learning.

The most important tip I can give you is to use images printed the correct way. You must have laser printed images, the sealer/glue used to attach the paper image to the glass is water based so any other images will run, not what you need. It really doesn't work using ink jet prints or photos from a photo booth - believe me I tried! Images cut from magazines should work, although I haven't tested this. Since most of us don't have colour laser printers handy the easiest way is to copy the image(s) you want to a usb stick and take it to a local print shop for printing.

You will need:

A laser printed image of your choice

Glass sealant/adhesive. I use Judikins Diamond Glaze

Bezels and glass cabochons - you can buy these in sets so you know the cabochon will fit the bezel

Jewellery Glue E6000

A scalpel

Making art pendants

Choose your image. Using the glass adhesive spread a generous layer on the image. You need plenty to make sure there are no gaps or these will show in the finished pendant.

Place the glass cabochon on the image and roll it around a bit to make sure any air bubbles are removed, you will have some adhesive spread out the sides, this is OK, we'll remove that later. Make sure the cabochon is in the correct place on the image.

Leave to dry, I usually leave for at least 24 hours to make sure.

Take your bezel and spread the glass adhesive on the surface to seal it. Leave to dry. This will prevent any colour leaching from the bezel onto the paper image. Without this step you can often get blue staining of the image from the metal of the bezel. 

Don't worry if it all goes wrong, the adhesive is water based so check the image carefully before you glue it into the pendant and if it's not perfect soak it in hot water and the paper will come off easily. You can then try again.

Take your scalpel and carefully trim around the cabochon. Take care to scrape around the sides to remove any adhesive stuck to the glass. Check it fits properly in the bezel then spread glue in the bezel and carefully place the cabochon with the attached image in the bezel. Press down to ensure a seal then leave to dry.

You should now have a pretty pendant you can add a chain to to make a necklace.

Butterfly photo pendant

Have fun ! 

I have images for instant download all ready for you to make into a pendant or other jewellery item. Check them out here

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