By DIY: Upcycled Gift Card Pendants
July 2014
I made a bunch of these pendants based on BBC’s Sherlock to give out during San Diego Comic-Con (which I ended up not having time to do with all of the stuff going on during the Con.) I try to be eco-friendly so I’m always interested in ways to upcycle various items.
For these pendants you’ll need:
Old gift cards (I don’t recommend old credit cards or anything with raised numbers/lettering)
Photos of your choice or you can paint if you are artistic.
Modge Podge – I find Matte finish works best for less streaks
Soft bristle paint brush
Sand paper or nail file
Crop-A-Dile or other heavy duty hole punch
Split or Jump Rings
Cord or chain for the necklace
Optional: flannel or other fabric; glitter glue
Step 1: Cut gift cards in half as shown above
Step 2: File or sand down the cut edges and round out the corners (the corners can be cut with a heavy duty corner punch). I used cheap paper nail files purchased at the dollar store since they’re cheap and were easier to work with. If you are going to paint on the cards, use a fine sandpaper on the surface you wish to paint on and skip Step 3.
Step 3: Coat one side with Modge Podge
Step 4: Apply your photo onto the modge podged side of the card, or paint your image onto the card.
Step 5: Trim the photo to size.
Step 6: Add at least 2 coats of Modge Podge to protect the image, letting each coat dry between applications.
I don\’t have pictures for the rest of the steps.
Step 7: I didn’t want the backside to show the gift card so I used some scrap flannel fabric I had and used the same Modge Podge technique to attach the fabric to the backside of the pendant. I didn’t coat the top of the flannel because I wanted the pendants to be soft against your skin, and Modge Podge can feel tacky against your skin.
Step 8: Punch two holes in the top of your pendant, spacing determined on how long your necklace is and how you want it to sit. I used a 3-cord faux leather necklace which measured 17 inches long (not including the extender chain), and because it’s short, I try to space the holes closer to the center of the pendant rather than the corners.
Optional: After punching the holes, I applied one more coat of Modge Podge to the surface of the photo to seal the holes.
Step 9: Attach the rings and necklace.
Optional: I also used cheap ($1 bin at Michaels) glitter glue on the edges of the card to make it prettier and seal the flannel edges.
The finished product! This picture was from the first attempts before I realized I preferred the holes closer together.
Happy Crafting!
-V
Weird Life of V 