I have been having a lot of fun, making beautiful scrabble tile pendants from Tin Teddy images.
Each item in the “Squares” range includes a sheet with images that are specially chosen and sized to work with “scrabble” sized tiles.
You can of course use any small images for this tutorial.
You Will Need:
Tin Teddy scrabble tile graphics or similar
Wooden scrabble size tile
Sharp craft knife or scissors
Black acrylic paint and brush, or black Sharpy pen
Strong tacky glue
Versamark clear ink pad or similar
Clear embossing powder or UTEE
Embossing heat gun
Pendant bail
Cord or chain
Optional:
Fine sandpaper
Prepare the Base…
1 – Paint the edges of the wooden tiles with black acrylic paint, or colour them with a black Sharpy pen. You could leave them blank or varnish them if you prefer.
2 – Select a picture from a Tin Teddy digital collage sheet, the Square sets include a page with tiles that are the right size for Scrabble tile pendants. I print mine on glossy photo paper as this makes the images very sharp and clear.
3 – Cut out your chosen image and glue it to the front of the wooden tile with tacky glue or similar.
4 – When the glue has dried, carefully use a knife or scissors to trim any excess paper from around the tile if necessary
5 – OPTIONAL – lightly sand around the very edges of the image to give a smooth, blended look
The magical bit…
6 – Press the front (image side) of the tile onto a Versamark or other clear ink pad a few times, be sure it is fully covered.
7 – Sprinkle clear embossing powder onto the tile and tap off any excess. I use Heat it Up and Ranger brands for this.
8 – Gently heat the embossing powder with your heat gun, watch for when it goes clear and smooth
9 – Quickly sprinkle more embossing powder on to the hot tile and tap off any excess
10 – Continue heating the powder and applying more layers until you are happy with the results. I used 3 layers on my tiles. If you are using a thicker embossing powder you may only need one layer.
11 – Wait a few minutes to be sure the embossing powder has dried then glue the bail to the reverse of your tile with strong glue
12 – OPTIONAL – I coat the edges of my tiles with a thin layer of PVA glue to provide additional protection and a gentle shine to the edges
13 – Add a chain or cord and proudly wear your beautiful new scrabble tile pendants
Handy Hints
You can create similar pendants with plastic tiles too.
If you are making pendants to sell, how about popping them in little card boxes so customers can give them as gifts. Check out my Tutorial for Making Custom Boxes here.
Read the Tin Teddy Blog articles about selling at craft fairs to help get more sales!
You could coat the edges of the tile with embossing powder instead of painting them. Gold or silver would look very attractive. You may find it easier to paint a light coat of PVA glue to the edge instead of using the Versamark pad, so the embossing doesn’t get on the front and back of the tile too.
You may want to paint the reverse of the tile too, or even put another image (or the same image) there and emboss for a double sided pendant.
If you want to make this project with children then they could coat the image with layers of PVA glue or ModPodge instead of embossing it.
The images used in this tutorial are from the following Tin Teddy digital collage sets (names link to the sets in my Etsy shop):
Tin Teddy Vintage Dogs 1″ Squares
Tin Teddy Vintage Cats 1″ Squares
Tin Teddy Vintage Cute Animals 1″ Squares
Tin Teddy Vintage Japanese Artwork 1″ Squares
Thank you for a very clear tutorial. I have bought some of your pictures and will be making these today.
Thank you very much, angela, I hope you have fun 🙂
These look fun. I cant wait to try this. Thnx