Are you a bit intimidated of resin (the one you have to mix and pour for creating jewelry pieces) too? Well, I have to admit that I am (and that I have been hoarding some for ages, not daring to break open the package because I am afraid I will mess up). But since I have discovered DecoArt Media Liquid Glass I don't need any Resin to create wonderful glossy and dimensional pendants for my altered art necklaces! And when did you last make paper beads? When you were a child? Well, let me tell you that it still is a lot of fun – especially when you take them to the next level and incorporate them with your own mixed media jewelry pieces!

Items Needed:

• DecoArt Media Mediums and Specialty Products - Clear Matte Medium (DMM20-71)
• DecoArt Media Varnishes - Gloss Varnish (DMM25-71)
• Black 18 Gauge Wire
• Cutting, Flat, And Round Nose Pliers
• 3/4 In Thin Brass Disc
• Dremel Or Dress Press
• Fine Metal Sanding Paper
• Collage Paper
• Assorted Brushes
• Fine Tip Artist Pen
• Old Book Pages Or Magazines
• Skewers
• Scissors
• 50in Gun Metal Or Black Chain
• 2 Necklace Closures
• Jump Rings
• Coloured Beads

Instructions:

Pendant One:
Drill punch two opposite holes in brass disc and sand on both sides

Create a small collage that fits the disc's size.

Use Matte Medium to layer the cut out elements and seal the finished collage. Let dry.

To make sure your collage is glued to your brass disc properly hold against a light source so the shape of the disc shows through while the glue is still wet (so you can still move it around until it fits). Use Matte Medium for glueing the collage on. Let dry. Then cover the back of your pendant with some old book page in the same way. Seal with Matte Medium.

Paint and doodle over your collage with lightly diluted fluid acrylic paints. As the fluid acrylics are translucent no detail of the collaged elements will get lost. Let dry.

Apply a thin coat of Patina Green Antiquing Cream, let cure for some minutes and wipe back with a soft damp cloth until the desired look is achieved. Let dry.

Draw some thin outlines with a permanent fine tip black pen and add some text cut from an old book page.

Cover the finished pendant with a generous coat of Liquid Glass. Let best dry overnight so you don't risk touching it too soon and leaving marks or fingerprints.

Pendant Two:
Bend an oval shape (bezel) from black wire that includes a loop on top and at the bottom. Make sure it is as flat as possible (you can use a hammer and a small wood tile to carefully flatten it out if necessary). Position your bezel on top of a designer paper or small collage and thoroughly fill up with Liquid Glass by covering the whole image and the wire frame as well! This way the Liquid Glass will fuse the image and your bezel once it is dry. Let best dry overnight so you don't risk getting fingerprints from touching too soon!

Carefully cut around the outside of your wire bezel.

Glue some old book page to the back of the pendant, cut to shape and cover with Liquid Glass too. Let dry thoroughly.

Paper Beads:
Glue two old book or dictionary pages together lengthwise. Then cut into long strips that form a long drawn-out equal-sided triangle. Use a skewer to roll the paper around starting with the wide end. Fix start and end of your paper triangle strip with glue.

Apply some diluted Raw Sienna Fluid Acrylic to your beads to create an aged look. Let dry.

Cover the beads with a thin coat of Media Gloss Varnish using a soft brush. Use skewers and a sand filled pot to stick them in for drying. Don't use a heat tool as this will cause bubbles!

Cut a 6 to 7 inch piece of black wire and form a loop on one end. Insert into the paper bead.

Form the other loop, then wrap the wire around the whole bead and coil the wire around that wire end several times. Cut off any excess and make sure you bend the end of the wire inwards so it won't sting or tear any clothing.

If desired create more necklace parts using beads from taken apart cheap bracelets for example.

Assembly:
Arrange all your necklace parts until content. Now you know how many jump rings you will need and the length of the chains needed.

Get out your jewelers pliers. Prepare jump rings and closures and trim the chains needed for the necklace.

Fuse all your parts (pendant, closure, beads, chains) with jump rings. Use two pliers to bend them open and close (one for holding in place, the other for bending open and close. Don't ever bend jumprings outwards to open but fix one end of the ring with one pair of pliers and bend the other end away from you to open. This way they won't break and will also close again neatly and keep their circular shape when you bend the end back in position.