Sunday, September 19, 2010

One-minute pendants: a shocking true confession!

Here are some pendants, made from polymer clay medallions, little tiny mirrors and plastic Mah Jongg tiles.  They share a shocking secret, which I have kept locked within my breast for the past six years.




Today I reveal all.  The secret: each object was turned into a pendant in one minute or less!

The method:


This is foil duct tape from the home improvement store.  This is no la-di-dah decorative crafting duct tape.  It is metal.  It is strong.  It is not playing around.

Once in a while, I want to convert something into a casual pendant, without taking time to drill a hole or wait for glue to dry.  Doesn't that sound nice?  Here's how to turn anything into a One Minute Pendant.

Find a pretty object - one that's not too heavy - and something to use as a bail.  (Bail, n: that little hanger thingy at the top of a pendant.)  There are so many things that will work as a bail - just scrounge around your house and lots of options will appear.  You could use wire key rings:


The finding from a chandelier earring:


Or a little bit of leather cord.


Simply cut a piece of the metal tape to fit the back of your object, then stick it on, sandwiching the bail inside.


Be sure to burnish it down completely.  A small rounded object works best - here I used the end of a swizzle stick.


Your minute is up, your pendant is done!



You can do earrings, too...


For those, I used yet another bail option: just a piece of craft wire with a loop at the top.  Coil the wire to make a larger area for the tape to grip, like so:


I know what you're thinking.  "This is a cheat.  This is shoddy workmanship.  Michelle's confession has shocked me.  I never suspected she had such a skeleton in her closet!  It's just a piece of tape.  How long is tape going to hold up?"

My dears, nothing in this life is certain.  Glue can fail, jump rings can pull apart, sooner or later all jewelry will come to dust.  All I can tell you is, a foil duct tape pendant, if treated kindly, will last a long time.  How do I know?

Here is the very first pendant I ever made from scratch.  Polymer clay and some little charms.


Ahem.  I know, it's lopsided and inexpert and a little bit goofy.  But I was so proud of it!  And, in fact, I wear it all the time.  And here's the back:


I made it six years ago.

Aren't you a little bit shocked?

21 comments:

  1. I thought magician's weren't supposed to reveal their secrets? Glad you did!

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  2. What a fabulous idea! That tape looks amazing! I have to get me some of that!

    I'd love if you linked this project to my weekly Round Tuit party at:

    http://jembellish.blogspot.com/2010/09/round-tuit-15.html

    Hope you have a lovely week!

    Jill @ Creating my way to Success

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  3. Okay, why have I never heard of this magical metallic duct tape? Imma go get me some right now! Thank you for the tip and I love your one-minute pendants!

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  4. i'm deeply disturbed and just...gob-smacked beyond recognition... this is simply an outrage... i may have to report you to the crafty bureau of investigation... that tape is quite literally the tapiest tape out there and certainly not meant for this kind of revolutionary use... oh my, oh my...

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  5. How freakin awesome is this!! I shall steal... um, I mean borrow... this idea for many necklaces to come! Thanks for sharing!

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  6. What a great trick! I'll have to go to the hardware store as soon as possible...
    Sophie

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  7. That is disgusting. How dare you? (keep this secret for so long)
    I love a good cheat, this one is ace!

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  8. That is the stuff I've been looking for! Yay! Thank you so much for posting about it, I knew there was something like that out there! Now I just have to get my hands on some....

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  9. Awesome! You rule at crafty (in both meanings - I love that crafty has double meaning!) jewelry!

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  10. I may have to nab some of that just for emergency repairs! Thanks for the tip, Michelle. I'd never heard of this marvelous substance.

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  11. You are so incredibly awesome. We have a huge honking roll of that stuff.

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  12. So fun...i love it! :) have a artsy day!

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  13. Next time I go to the hardware store I'll be on the look out for the foil duct tape. Thanks for sharing your secret!

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  14. Awesome idea! I bought some of that tape a few years ago when a local Home Depot went out of business as I thought there might be a craft application but never thought of one. I will have to dig through my craft closet and make some of my own one minute pendants.

    Thanks for sharing this with us!

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  15. I love your little butterfly pendant. Doesn't matter if it's lopsided, which I really couldn't see anyway! I am fast becoming a craftoholic. Everything I see, I want to try. :o( If my budget would just stretch to cover them all, but I think your blog and many of the others I have seen on here are going to be a big help in accomplishing that!!! Thank you so much.

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  16. Yes! We need this tape. Thank you for confessing your dirty little secret. I absolve you. Your penance is.... another pendant.

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  17. yes, I <3 this! and Yes, I am shocked! And YES!!! I am posting a link to my FB wall RIGHT.NOW.

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  18. Did you know you can bezel with it? :3

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  19. at the current moment my ceiling fan's light part (my uncle gave me an awesome fan which has 2 parts the fan part and a part that houses the lights however the pieces are from 2 different fans and my light does not fit properly to the bottom of the fan) is attached to my fan with this metal duct tape. it has been there 4 months now (even though i bought a piece at a thrift store with the same amount of light socket things that will fit perfectly [my dad is lazy and mom and me are useless at eletrical things] )

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