Wood Pendant Necklace

Step 7 Add bail and chain

Put the bail on and squeeze shut with pliers and add a pretty chain.

Comments

[thedestroyer]

what about using a non toxic water based paint such as the (cheap) basic watercolors that are made for little kids? i imagine that would be cool to use for colored pendants... also if one wanted to go for a completely organic approach, you can make a really dark dye out of black walnut husks (the green shell around a black walnut). you soak the husks overnight in water, then boil them in the same water the next day until you get the desired shade. you can store extra in upcycled plastic bottles in the freezer. if anyone tries this though, you do want to wear gloves at all times when handling the husks/dye...it's powerful dye and stains take FOREVER to get off of hands and won't come out period of carpet/clothing/hair (yes i got some in my hair) etc. This can be used for multiple purposes, not just wood staining. should you fancy a natural hair dye, there are instructions for using it for that online, as well as dying material and obviously wood...

[SIRJAMES09]

the problem with using water colors, is that even after they completely dry, if they get wet again(from sweating or otherwise, the paint woulld come off on you or your clothes.
__________________________________________________________________

this is a neat idea!! the black stain from walnuts....

Blue stain/paint from duck droppings(their poop)

Various other colors from different flowers, reeds, grass, etc...

I have never tried the walnuts, but I have made paint from roses, & from the ducks...

[ChrysN]

I've heard of using walnuts. Roses and duck droppings sound interesting.

[SIRJAMES09]

just make sure the droppings are not fresh. *wink* LOL

[Weather_blue]

If you tie-dye at all, the fiber-reactive dyes like you'd use on cotton or rayon also make pretty interesting stains. This guy's a massive inspiration: http://www.dharmatrading.com/autogen/featuredartists/html/202/

I figure if the dye's safe enough to put in clothes...

[ChrysN]

Thanks for the link, his stuff looks amazing!

[ChrysN]

Great suggestions, I've heard of using walnut husks for hair dye before.

[KwartzKitten]

What a simple and elegant idea!

[ChrysN]

Thanks!

[AmyLuthien]

I wonder how well food coloring would work?  Then you could have different colors (red, blue, green, purple.)  I may give it a try for giggles!

[ChrysN]

Cool, I'd love to see how it turns out!

[AmyLuthien]

Actually, I think it turned out really well!  I used two different kinds, regular old food coloring and some soap coloring I'd picked up cheap once upon a time.  I've included a thumbnail sized picture here, if you'd like to see it full-sized, click here:  www.luthien-tinuviel.net/ibles/Picture 006.jpg

Oh, and that's just a scrap piece of birch I had lying around.  I also rubbed some mineral oil on it, and a very minimal amount of color came back off.  I think you'd probably want to seal this with something other than oil or it might bleed onto your skin/clothes, or perhaps it just needs to be worked in more (I didn't spend a lot of time on that!)

[ChrysN]

Wow, I looks really nice with colour.  Thanks for posting.

[AmyLuthien]

No problem, thanks for the idea! 

Just a quick update, I applied a clear coat varnish to it this afternoon, and it didn't bleed or run at all.  So perhaps just letting it soak in and dry over night then oiling it will do the trick.  Will just have to experiment! 

One thing of note that I noticed when using the food coloring, it didn't alter the surface at all, so you wouldn't have the extra step of having to sand again after staining it.

Now I have to go pawing through all my bits and pieces of scrap wood, Christmas presents, here I come!  :D

[mdog93]

could you dissolve instant coffee in baby oil, then apply that to the wood?

if so, it might avoid splintering and raising the grain etc. It might also last longer.

just a thought.

[bucklipe]

Instant coffee  is water soluble, so the baby/mineral oil won't work as a medium.

[ChrysN]

Interesting idea, I'll try it.

[mdog93]

I tried it and it worked a little but not very well, the coffee didn't seem to dissolve properly, perhaps i didn't get it hot enough to start with.

Then i tried adding veg. fat or lard to make a wood wax and that didn't separate but the wood didn't take on much colour froim it unfortunately.

I think with a bit of tweaking it could work though.

[tinadalton]

Try putting the coffee in rubbing alcohol.  The alcohol will evaporate fast and still let the color set in.

[mdog93]

cool, do you reckon the coffee would dissolve in rubbing alcohol then?

[bucklipe]

 Yes, rubbing alcohol has water in it. The 91% rubbing alcohol is only 9% water. Usually if it will dissolve in water it dissolves in alcohol.

[mdog93]

cool, cheers for clearing that up. Intersting topic i thought :)

[ThePropNerds]

 Damn, this is why I love instructables. So many new ideas and nothing is too strange or odd to try. :D

(speaking of too odd to try, I'm off to see if coffee will dissolve in rubbing alcohol) ^_^

[mdog93]

let me know how it works out

[ThePropNerds]

 A'ight, here's the verdict. There is not enough water in the rubbing alcohol to dissolve a full teaspoon of instant coffee mix (which is what was recommended), but there is enough to dissolve a little. After the alcohol absorbs all the color it's going to, the rest of the mix turns into a nasty thick sludge that's a pain to clean.
I tested the alcohol bath three times. Once with a simple dip in, then letting dry, soaking for five minutes, and soaking for ten minutes. Even after heating up the alcohol and letting it soak for ten minutes, it still did not have a usable finish. There was very little color difference from when it started.

What I ended up doing was making a tea bath for my peices by brewing a single cup of tea with three tea bags in it instead of the normal one. This concentrated the broth (and unfortunately made it undrinkable) :( 
I submerged each piece in the broth using a pair of spoons and let each piece sit for ten minutes, and that seemed to do the trick. There is a very noticeable difference in the ending color as opposed to the starting color of the pendants. It is not as pronounced as it would have been if I'd used Danish oil, like I'd originally planned to, but it still a marked difference and I think the finish is usable.

If you've got any questions about what I did or the color comparison, just let me know! :)

[ChrysN]

Nice, thanks for all the research!

[ThePropNerds]

 You're welcome! Also, one more thing I forgot -- the alcohol bath was a light yellowish color... um.... kinda like... *tries to think of better comparison*

...yeah, I give up. I also used maple, which is a very dense wood. I'm not sure what the effects of either bath would be on a more porous, softer wood like pine.

[hoihoi151]

 linseed oil mixed with mineral oil works as a good natural sealer.

[tonymcr]

Shoe polish also works well as a stain for wood.  Just make sure it is well rubbed in before you wear the pendant!