DIY sheet music pendant necklaces are an easy jewelry item to make for yourself, give as gifts, or sell on Etsy and at craft fairs.
Sheet music pendant necklaces are also a great project for using up sheet music scraps. When I make any sheet music project, such as tile coasters and greeting cards, inevitably, I’m left with little scraps. There are a handful of projects I make regularly with these scraps, including clothespin magnets, glass magnets, and pendant necklaces.
The technique that I use for glass magnets is the same technique that I’m using here for necklaces. Once you have your basic glass or bottle cap component, you can finish it any way you like. In addition to magnets and pendant necklaces, I like using this technique for ornaments and even pins. There are so many fun possibilities.
Sheet music pendant necklaces look great with new or vintage music. You’ll see examples with both in this tutorial. If you don’t want to hunt down vintage music, it’s really easy to make your own, which is what I did for the music I used here.
Handmade necklaces are a quick jewelry item to make for yourself or give as gifts, including party favors for birthdays, bridal showers, and baby showers. I perfected my original glass magnet technique by making them for craft fairs for years. They’re also an ideal item to sell on Etsy.
Supplies for DIY sheet music pendant necklaces
- New or vintage sheet music scraps, either genuine vintage or antiqued sheet music. For the vast majority of my handmade sheet music crafts, I use All Piano Scores – Chopin, printed on white card stock.
- Glass cabochons. For this tutorial, I used the following glass cabochons: 30mm circles, 25mm circles, 25mm squares, 25mm hearts, and 18mm x 25mm ovals.
- Metal bottle caps. You can use recycled bottle caps (which is what I did for this tutorial), or you can purchase recycled or new bottle caps.
- For the 30mm and 25mm circles and bottle caps, it’s extremely helpful to use a 1″ circle paper punch to cut out the sheet music. I use a pencil and a pair of scissors to trace and cut out the other shapes.
- Diamond glaze
- E-6000 adhesive
- Q-tips
- Jewelry bails. I’m linking the set I used for this tutorial, which includes silver, gold, and bronze bails.
- Chain link for the necklaces. I’m providing links for silver, gold, and bronze chain links, all of which include enough lobster clasps and jump rings to make half a dozen necklaces. You’ll need to purchase additional clasps and jump rings to make more necklaces.
- Needle-nose jewelry pliers, round-nose pliers, and jewelry wire cutters. I love this jewelry tool kit, which includes all three of these tools.
For gift-giving purposes, I also recommend picking up a set of padded jewelry boxes. They add a nice touch to the gift presentation and give recipients a place to store their new jewelry.
Supply note: There are a lot of glass pendant necklace tutorials that call for Mod Podge instead of diamond glaze. Mod Podge does work. I prefer the texture and aesthetic of diamond glaze for pendants.
How to make sheet music pendant necklaces
A quick note: You will notice a few imperfections in the pendant necklaces. These imperfections are only noticeable because I’m giving you such a close-up view of the necklaces for the sake of the tutorial. No one will ever notice little flaws in the music or bubbles in the diamond glaze when someone is wearing a necklace. Don’t stress out about these little details.
For this tutorial, I’m using a mix of new and antiqued sheet music scraps. Collect your scraps or gather a couple of fresh pages.
Cut out the sheet music you need for your necklaces. For round cabochons and bottle caps, I use a circle punch. For other shapes (i.e., hearts, ovals, squares), I trace the shape and then cut it down by hand with scissors.
Glass cabochon necklaces
Take a damp paper towel or microfiber cloth. Wipe down the cabochons to get rid of any dust and debris. Allow them to dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the back of each cabochon to secure the sheet music. Smooth the music into place, facedown. Wipe away any excess diamond glaze with a damp paper towel. Let the glaze dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the back of each cabochon to seal the sheet music. Use the diamond glaze tip or a Q-tip to smooth the glaze evenly, removing any large air bubbles. I am not meticulous about taking out every last small air bubble, as no one will ever see the backs of the necklaces. Allow the glaze to dry completely.
In a well-ventilated area, use a Q-tip to apply a small drop of E-6000 adhesive to the top of each cabochon. Alternatively, you can also apply the adhesive to the flat part of the jewelry bails. Position the jewelry bails on the cabochons. Wipe away any excess glue. Let the adhesive dry for a full 24 hours before handling the cabochons.
Once the cabochons are done, you’re ready to finish making them into necklaces.
If you’re new to jewelry making, consider reviewing instructions for opening and closing jump rings first.
- Use the wire cutters to cut the chain to length for a necklace. For the tutorial, I made 18″ necklaces. You can customize this length as you like.
- Use the pairs of pliers to open two jump rings. Slide on jump ring onto one end of the chain, and close it. Slide a lobster clasp onto the other jump ring before sliding it onto the other end of the chain and closing it.
You can use any type of glass cabochon with a flat back to make sheet music pendant necklaces.
I tend to default to the 30mm round cabochons because they work so well with 1″ punched circles. But larger or smaller round cabochons are great, too. The cabochons below measures 25mm.
Bottlecap necklaces
Collect your bottlecaps. If you’re using recycled bottle caps, wash them and let them dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the inside of each bottle cap. Distribute the diamond glaze evenly. Smooth the sheet music into place, removing any excess diamond glaze. Allow the glaze to dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the top of each sheet music circle. Distribute the diamond glaze evenly. Use the diamond glaze tip or a Q-tip to remove any air bubbles. It’s virtually impossible to get rid of every single air bubble. Do your best to remove the largest bubbles. Wipe away any excess diamond glaze. Let the glaze dry completely.
In a well-ventilated location, use a Q-tip to apply a small drop of E-6000 adhesive to the top of each bottle cap. Alternatively, you can also apply the adhesive directly to the flat part of the jewelry bails. Position the jewelry bails on the bottle caps. Let the adhesive dry for a full 24 hours before handling the pendants.
Your new sheet music pendant necklaces are ready to wear, give as gifts, or sell on Etsy or at craft fairs!
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To see all of my sheet music DIY projects, head to the sheet music section of the blog.