Ten Two Studios

My first lesson on making these pendants was such a hit that I went back to the work table to make more. I usually post plain projects without too much embellishment, so you can see the contstruction details clearly. These are a little more embellished than the first set, and have tassels at the bottom—because sometimes a girl just needs a few shiny things in her life.

To make your own bamboo domino pendants, you’ll need:

• Pre-drilled bamboo dominos, which I’ll list for sale in the dominos section as long as I can keep them in stock. (Please note that when this project was written in 2008, the large doms used to make these samples were still available. Although they have been discontinued, this same technique can be applied using the mini dominos that are now in stock.)

• A sheet of domino-sized images, also listed for sale in the dominos section.
• Gel medium, or your favorite collage adhesive. I used Dick Blick’s Acrylic Matte Medium.
• Sealer or varnish to make the collage portion waterproof. I used DecoArt DuraClear Varnish.
• A scouring pad or sanding block to rough up the surface of the domino a bit.
• A foam sponge applicator.
• 1mm cord for stringing. I found cotton cord in fun colors in the craft section of Wal-Mart, and colored hemp at several craft stores.
• Beads, charms, glitter glue or rhinestones to embellish your finished necklace.
• Tacky glue and a bamboo skewer.

Cut the collage sheet into strips to make the images a little easier to handle. Cut out the images you wish to use on your pendants.

Use a scouring pad or a sanding block to rough the front side of the domino just a little bit. A green kitchen scrubbing pad will take off just a bit of the finish. A sanding block will take off a lot of it, and lift some of the color from the domino.

Clean off the dominos with a soft cloth to remove the dust from sanding.

Using a foam sponge or your finger, apply a tiny bit of matte medium to the front face of the domino, smoothing it over the surface.

Apply a tiny bit of matte medium to the back side of an image.

Line up the image on the front side of the domino, and press it into place. Apply a tiny bit of matte medium over the top of the image, and set it aside to dry.

If you wish, add some glitter glue dots or swirls to the front of the domino. I love Elmer’s glitter glue for doing this type of thing, because the tip is so small, and the ultra-fine glitter is suspended in a binder that’s not too thick and gooey.

When the domino is completely dry, apply a light coat of sealer with a foam sponge.

While the sealer is still wet, you can drop flat-backed rhinestones onto it. They’ll stick to the domino when the sealer dries.

You can also apply tiny holeless beads onto the wet sealer. I poured some into the cap of my container, and dipped the wet domino into them. I used my fingertip to remove any that spilled over the side of the image, or drifted into areas I wanted to keep clear. These beads will need a second coat of sealer over them when the first one dries, just to hold them securely in place.

When the dominos are dry, plan your beading pattern. Since each dom has two holes, you’ll need two rows of beads at the top and bottom that eventually merge into one.

Cut a piece of cord, and start threading beads. I worked with the two lines of beads coming directly out of the top and bottom first.

Next, I added the beads at the top of the pendant that merge the two lines together. I tied a small knot at the top, hiding it in the very top bead whenever I could.

I added the beads to the bottom of the pendant, merging the two lines, and again tying a small knot. I added an extra piece of cord into the knot to create the tassel, and slid the final bead over the knot to hide it.

To hold the tassel in place, I applied just a tiny bit of glue inside the bead, using a skewer.

I tied small beads to the bottom of each strand of the tassel.