One-minute pendants: a shocking true confession!

Here are some pendants, made from polymer clay medallions, little tiny mirrors and plastic Mah Jongg tiles.  They share a shocking secret, which I have kept locked within my breast for the past six years.

Today I reveal all.  The secret: each object was turned into a pendant in one minute or less!

The method:

This is foil duct tape from the home improvement store.  This is no la-di-dah decorative crafting duct tape.  It is metal.  It is strong.  It is not playing around.

Once in a while, I want to convert something into a casual pendant, without taking time to drill a hole or wait for glue to dry.  Doesn't that sound nice?  Here's how to turn anything into a One Minute Pendant.

Find a pretty object - one that's not too heavy - and something to use as a bail.  (Bail, n: that little hanger thingy at the top of a pendant.)  There are so many things that will work as a bail - just scrounge around your house and lots of options will appear.  You could use wire key rings:

The finding from a chandelier earring:

Or a little bit of leather cord.

Simply cut a piece of the metal tape to fit the back of your object, then stick it on, sandwiching the bail inside.

Be sure to burnish it down completely.  A small rounded object works best - here I used the end of a swizzle stick.

Your minute is up, your pendant is done!

You can do earrings, too...

For those, I used yet another bail option: just a piece of craft wire with a loop at the top.  Coil the wire to make a larger area for the tape to grip, like so:

I know what you're thinking.  "This is a cheat.  This is shoddy workmanship.  Michelle's confession has shocked me.  I never suspected she had such a skeleton in her closet!  It's just a piece of tape.  How long is tape going to hold up?"

My dears, nothing in this life is certain.  Glue can fail, jump rings can pull apart, sooner or later all jewelry will come to dust.  All I can tell you is, a foil duct tape pendant, if treated kindly, will last a long time.  How do I know?

Here is the very first pendant I ever made from scratch.  Polymer clay and some little charms.

Ahem.  I know, it's lopsided and inexpert and a little bit goofy.  But I was so proud of it!  And, in fact, I wear it all the time.  And here's the back:

I made it six years ago.

Aren't you a little bit shocked?