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Decorate a Wood Pendant with Mod Podge

Learn how to decorate a wood pendant with a picture from a magazine – or any other scan you like! This necklace is easy and great for gifts.

Skills Required: Beginner. For this pendant you’ll be doing some basic scanning, painting, Mod Podging, and then attaching jewelry findings. If you’ve never used Dimensional Magic before, check out this guide.

Decorate a Wood Pendant with Mod Podge

If you’re ready to learn how to decorate a wood pendant, I’m happy to share this fashion craft with you. I’m downright excited in fact.

It’s a DIY necklace that 1) uses Dimensional Magic, which is one of my favorite things in the whole world; and 2) can be personalized with any image or scrap of paper that you like.

For this particular pendant, I chose to take a copy of the cover of a recent Boden catalog which had a beautiful watercolor-like floral design on it. That became the background of my necklace. It wasn’t my catalog to cut up, so I scanned it instead.

This wood craft tutorial goes for anything you don’t want to cut up and can scan instead: photos are one of the most common things, but you can also use magazines.

But you never know when you’ll see a design that you have to have on a piece of jewelry, but you can’t take your scissors to it. In that case, here’s what you’ll do!

DIY Floral Pendant

Gather These Supplies

Magazine on a scanner

Scan your catalog on your Flip-Pal. I have a secret – I’m at work but NOT on my lunch break. Mwahahahaha! Being bad feels so good.

I love the portability of this small scanner. And it’s so small that I can cover it with a spreadsheet if someone walks up.

Tracing a wood pendant on paper with a pencil

Print out the design onto a piece of copy paper. If you have a laserjet printer, you can cut out and decoupage as is.

If you have an inkjet printer, you’ll need to seal the paper with clear acrylic spray sealer before decoupaging, or it will smear. Trace your pendant flat side down onto your design.

Cut out paper circle next to a wood pendant

Cut the paper out and make sure that it fits your pendant. Adjust if you need to. Set the paper aside.

Painting a wood pendant with blue paint

Paint your pendant with Blue Ribbon (or your coordinating color). Give several coats and allow to dry.

Applying Mod Podge to the top of the pendant with a paintbrush

Add a medium layer of Mod Podge to the top of the pendant. Place the paper on top and smooth thoroughly. Wipe away any Mod Podge that squeezes out the sides. Let the pendant dry for 15 – 20 minutes.

Applying Mod Podge over the top of the paper

Mod Podge over the top of the paper seal. Allow to dry and then add another coat of Mod Podge. At this time I poked a hole where the pendant hole was – I used some random sharp object. I forget what, but a paper clip or pin will work.

Sprinkling microbeads on top of wet Mod Podge

I had some coordinating Martha Stewart microbeads so I added them to give the project a little texture. Add some Mod Podge in the areas you want the beads and sprinkle directly on top (works just like glitter). Allow to dry.

Applying Dimensional Magic to the top of the wood pendant

Finally, add Dimensional Magic to the top of the pendant, right over the beads. Right after I applied the DM I stuck the metal flower directly onto the pendant.

The DM will dry and it will be held in place. It takes several hours for DM to dry, so be patient – also leave it in a relatively warm area. It cracks if it’s in a cold room.

DIY wood pendant

To make your wood pendant a necklace, add the jewelry findings of your choice. Or if you are like me and are completely spent from Mod Podging, find someone like Candie Cooper to do it for you.

I’m pleased with my finished necklace, especially the texture I got with the beads and metal flowers. What do you think of my Mod Podge jewelry idea? Are you ready to decorate a wood pendant?


Are you looking for more DIY jewelry ideas – some using Dimensional Magic? Visit these easy jewelry projects! Or some of these other necklace options:

Lisa G

Monday 21st of January 2013

This is a great project! I'm curious tho...how do you keep the DM from dripping over the side of your pendant?

Amy

Monday 21st of January 2013

Hi Lisa! Actually DM has great surface tension . . . so as long as you don't go crazy and get TOO close, it just stays there :D

Terrell Delgado

Tuesday 1st of January 2013

can you tell me what the pendant is made of? I thought a piece of wood, but not sure about the mod podge on that... thanks in Advance... Terrell

Amy

Wednesday 2nd of January 2013

Hi Terrell! Yes, it's a wood pendant. You can get one like that from a craft store :D

WendyR

Thursday 19th of May 2011

OMG! I am a confessed newbie to Mod Podge. I saw a couple of canvas projects at a craft fair last weekend and have been DYING to do it myself. With great tips from several projects in your SUPER blog I am headed to the craft store today and will create my first Mod Podge masterpiece, a gift for my son's preschool teacher. Can't wait for the store to open!

Paula

Friday 11th of March 2011

Love this project! I featured you in my National Craft Month blog post.

Mod Podge Amy

Wednesday 9th of March 2011

Hi Andrea! You can just seal the back with Mod Podge - I like to do it just so it doesn't get scratched up. Thanks!