Gearing up for the Games

All right, even if you’re off to the midnight showing tonight, you still have just enough time to make yourself a little piece of Hunger Games fandom, if you haven’t already.  I had another post all ready for today, but changed my mind at the last minute.  Sorry if you’re not a fan, but you’re just going to have to suffer through *yet another* post where I make jewelry out of glass tiles and gems and rave about good books. ;)

I tried a couple different kinds of pendants I’d like to show you.  The first, and my favorite, was this glass tile version:

You can visit this tutorial to get the full photo how-to, if you haven’t done any tile crafting yet.  My archives have several glass tile posts, so I didn’t think another photo tutorial was really necessary today.  But let me give you a quick run-down of how to make a glass tile necklace.

I printed the mockingjay image from my printer, trimmed it down, and Mod-Podged it to the top of a glass tile.  Then, I added some dimensional glaze to the top (I use Annie Howe’s Glamour Glaze, but Mod Podge Dimensional Magic would work just the same).  Then I let it dry overnight (6 hours should be enough, so you can make it for the midnight show!!)  and then used E6000 to attach a bail to it (Gorilla Glue or any other heavy-duty permanent adhesive would accomplish the same thing).  Then I just strung it on a chain, and I had my own token to take to the games with me. :)

The other version I tried, in case you don’t live in an area where you can just run out for glass tiles (or don’t have dozens that you can’t resist playing with), was to use a large glass gem with a flat bottom.  (I found these at my dollar store, and they are about 2″ and not perfectly round.)

I thought this still turned out fun, and it sort of reminds me of a lump of coal, which is also quite fitting.  It requires less drying time than if you use dimensional glaze, though the image is slightly distorted through the bubble glass, which is why I didn’t like it quite as well.  For this one, you would trim your image to the shape of your glass gem, and Mod Podge it to the underside.  When it dries, attach the bail to the back.  For my tutorial that discusses putting an image under a glass gem and then attaching it to a jewelry blank, you can check out my Halloween Bracelet or even take a look at my other Hunger Games jewelry project. :)

If you’re not sure where to get an image, or want some ideas other than a plain Mockingjay, g*rated has some Games-themed square printables perfect for tile jewelry that they are willing to share!!

~ Adrianne