Glass Marble Necklace

It's a dachshund! I swear!

My daughter is in a playgroup this year, so for the first time I had to worry about teacher gifts. Her teacher raises dachshunds, so I whipped this one up for her.

Ingredients:

• Chain
• Toggle clasp
• Bail
• Flat backed glass marble
• White paper
• Scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge
• E6000
• Marker
• Paint brush
• Pliers
• Pencil
• Scissors or craft knife

Start by outlining your glass marble on the white paper with a pencil. This is your guideline. Free-hand your design inside, keeping in mind that you'll want to keep the important parts in the center. The outer edges tend to distort the image. Color your image with a marker. I did a graphic black on white design, but you could do anything. If you don't feel comfortable free-handing, you could print off a design or use pre-printed paper. Either way, test the image by placing the marble on top of it before moving on to the next step. Adjust accordingly.

Use the paintbrush to apply the Mod Podge onto the image. Place the glass marble on top. Do not cut out the shape at this point. Let it dry.

Use scissors or a craft knife to trim the excess paper off.

Pick a scrap of pretty paper to line the back. Apply more Mod Podge to the back of the marble and place on the wrong side of the scrapbook paper. Let dry. Trim off the excess. Apply another coat of Mod Podge to the back, taking care to seal the edges of the papers. Let it dry. Again.

The back. Pretty, right?

While you're waiting out the drying times, assemble the necklace with the chain and toggle clasp. I like the look of the clasp, so I put it near the front to turn it into more of a design element. It also makes it easier to put on the necklace. Yeah, I'm a klutz.

Anyway, when all of that Mod Podge has dried, glue the bail on the back with some E6000. Let that dry and you're done. This would be a great project to assembly-line. Wish I had thought of that at the time.