Make A Parakeet Mirror Pendant

Polly wanna necklace?

I made them from parakeet mirrors.

(crickets)

You know, parakeet mirrors!  From the bird section of the pet store.  They come simple or ornate, in lots of fun colors....

The perfect ready-made frame for a big, bold, Mod-podged pendant.

Want to DIY?  Read on for the quick and simple tutorial.



Begin by removing the bells and whistles.

Most have plastic hangers that just pop off without tools.  (If yours has metal jump rings, you'll need to open them with pliers.)

Now cut out a little scrap of art to match the frame.  I wasn't sure what I wanted in my frames, so I cut a whole bunch of options.

I used several different weights of paper - card stock, origami paper and magazine pages - all worked equally well!  I tried 'em on with the different frames, and eventually found the ones that sang to me.  What do you guys think you'd put in yours?  Perhaps a Victorian silhouette?

Ooh, ooh!  Just had the brainwave of the year!  Perhaps a Victorian silhouette of your pet.  OMG I am so doing that!

Breathe, Mich.  Breathe.  Back to the tutorial.

Clean the mirror with alcohol or glass cleaner.  Then paint on a layer of decoupage medium.

Place your art in the frame and smooth it out.  Cover with another layer of decoupage.

Let that first coat dry.  Apply a second coat, too, to really protect and seal the paper.  And ta-da!   Your pendant, she is done!

Add a complimentary necklace, as plain or as elaborate as you like.  I tried both ways with this teal pendant, and still can't decide which version I like best.

Fun, eh?

Now I want to show you a slightly different version, using the plastic back of the mirror instead of the glass.  Bonus: you'll have a hidden makeup mirror on the back of your necklace!

This version has just one small additional step: use coarse sandpaper to rough up the plastic.  (It helps your art to stick.)  Go on - really scuff that surface!

Clean off the dust, then follow the same steps as described above.  A slather of decoupage inside the frame, then two coats on top...

And there ya go!  For these Snow White fairy-tale mirrors, I decided on simple graphics cut from old greeting cards.

Okay, my friends, that's the Polly Wanna Necklace project, sure hope you enjoyed it.  Now - off with you!  To the pet store!


While you're there, mebbe you could pick up something on sale, to donate to an animal shelter in need.