Tear Drop Pendant semi DIY Tutorial

A while back - like a few months back - I asked which jewelry item you'd like a tutorial on.  Hands down, these pendants were the ones that had that most interest.  So, finally, I'm sharing my tutorial.

Unlike my clay jewelry, which is all hand made, these are made only semi by me.  I actually bought the pendants and then added to them to make them better.  And, keep in mind, that you can do this with a lot of items you find in craft stores.  If you like to customize your jewelry options, this is certainly one way to do it. Here's what I mean.

Step 1:  Start by picking a pendant that has highs and lows in it.  This pendant, which I know is a little hard to see, worked great because the swirls in the middle were raised above the base.

Step 2:  Pick a color of paint, I just used plain old acrylic craft paint, and get your paint brush ready.  

Tip:  Use your brush dry.  If it's wet the paint doesn't stick as well.

Step 3:  Paint your pendant and work the paint into the grooves and crevices

Step 4:  Next, take a slightly damp paper towel and carefully wipe off the top layer of paint.  Do your best to keep the paint in the crevices.  Some will come out, don't fret about that though.  Then set it aside and let it dry for awhile.

Step 5:  Repeat the paint/wipe off process until you have a good amount of paint sticking in the crevices and grooves.  Just use your judgement on this, you may want only a little color so one layer may enough.

I know the photo above doesn't show it that great but here is the pendant painted with two coats.  The deep red I chose doesn't show too much, but it's there, I promise.  (you can click on the photo to see it bigger)

Step 6:  After it is fully dry, take a piece of sand paper and lightly sand the top layer of the pendant.  This will remove any un-wanted paint from the metal and give it a crisper look.  

Step 7:  Then, using a dry brush add some sort of finish to seal in the paint and give the pendant some shine.  I used a gloss polyurethane on mine.

Here is the gloss drying - look you can see the red.  Wahoo!

and there you go - you've taken something that was kind of plain, but kind of cool, and with a little bit of time and some paint you've made it FABULOUS!!!  Well, at least I think so!  To finish it off just attach a chain and add a little pearl charm.
Enjoy!