Hallowvember: Sparkly Bat Pendant

I picked up a mess of Tim Holtz Facets at Tuesday Morning for cheap, and I’ve been wanting to play with them. For this pendant I used:

Tim Holtz Facet, small round
Red handmade paper from Daigo Japan
Fab Lab Autumn Craft decoupage paper
Studio G bat punch
A Wink of Stella brush
Golden Fluid Matte Medium
Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer
QuickStik
Distress Ink, Black Soot

I always forget something in supply pics. This time: Distress Ink.

To make my bats a little sparkly, I applied a couple coats with my A Wink of Stella brush. I love this thing.

While that was drying, I ran a pencil around the Facet on my background paper.

Using Distress Ink and a dry brush, I created a fairly deep vignette, so it would still be visible despite the strong facets on the pendant.

Tissue paper doesn’t play nice with punches. You can make it behave by punching it along with a piece of plain paper. Then you verrrry carefully separate the paper from the tiny tissue shape. I punched out three bats, and made sure they were sparkle side down.

I coated the entire back of the Facet with liquid matte medium.

QuickStik is extremely handy for picking up tiny things. I placed the bats sparkle-side-down on the back of the Facet. I had to hold the bat down with the tip of my pencil and carefully lift the QuickStik, as the hold was a bit strong for itty bits of tissue. Once the bats were arranged, I gently went over them with matte medium. Be careful not to move the bats around. Like I did.

Making sure there was plenty of matte medium on the back, especially on the edges, I turned the pendant over and pressed it to the background tissue within the penciled guidelines.

Working quickly, I applied matte medium to the back of the pendant, over the tissue, making sure everything was covered. With a damp fingertip, I carefully pressed the tissue, rolling my finger toward the edge, to eliminate any bubbles.

I love how the back turns translucent. Now, wait for the pendant to dry completely. COMPLETELY. If you trim early, you’ll rip the tissue. Like I did.

Okay, now you can trim. It’s easiest to do this right-side-up. Trim right up to the pendant edge.

I applied a coat of 3D Lacquer to the back. I like this stuff because it’s very tough, and dries clear. I could have done a dome effect, but I like the thin coat better. It looks all artsy.

Add a jump ring (included with the Facets) and a cord, and you have a pretty sparkly bat pendant!