DIY Upcycled Pop Can & Resin Heart Pendant

Do you have a pile of aluminum cans in recycling bin purgatory?  Well, if you have been around here long, you know I love to cut my cans and form them into various upcycled jewelry pieces.  Today, I am going to show you how I used a coke can, a bezel and some resin to create this fun, one of a kind heart pendant.  It would make a lovely gift for many occasions, and especially the rapidly approaching Valentine’s Day Holiday.  I made it for a gift and personalized it with a monogram stamped charm.  You don’t need a lot of expensive supplies and equipment to one of these yourself.  Here is how…

SUPPLIES

Empty Soda Can, rinsed with warm soapy water

Jewelry Shoppe Heart Bezel and corresponding heart paper punch (got mine at Hobby Lobby)

-OR-

Any heart shape bezel and a sharpie or other permanent marker

Glossy Accents or other metal glue

Grungeboard or scrap cardboard

Embossing folder and machine

Perfect Pearls

3 colors of acrylic paint

Metal paint primer (I used Martha Stewart’s)

Vintaj Sanding Block

Magic Glos Resin

INSTRUCTIONS

This project came about as I was doing another project that I haven’t shared with you yet.  There was a leftover aluminum can punched heart shape, and I remembered I had the corresponding bezel.  I found the bezel and paper punch at Hobby Lobby (by My Jewelry Shoppe) a couple of months back.  I decided to emboss the heart and add some acrylic paint and Liquid Pearls for a cool effect.

For the other project, I needed rectangles with a heart cut out in the middle.  If you just want the heart shape used in this tutorial, you don’t have to worry about cutting perfect rectangles.  Just primer and paint your can sheet and punch the heart shape from it.  I showed you how to cut the cans into a sheet in the video here…

Now apply a second paint color over your base (Ranger Paint Dauber color Pool used here).

Let dry and and sand with sanding block to distress as desired.  Not shown here, but in my final pendant, I added a third paint color.  The red made the pendant pop.  If you sand away too much paint, it’s ok.  Just paint again and sand until you are happy with your piece.  The raised areas will lose color when you sand, while the depressed areas hold color.  The embossed design is enhanced by the contrast.  So fun!

When you are happy with your paint job, glue heart into pendant bezel on top of cardboard base as shown.  Hold in place with clothespin while glue dries.

Let glue dry completely, then apply Magic Glos resin like I showed you in this Plaid Ring Bling tutorial.

You can use any resin you want.  I just had this on hand, and love the fact that it cures in minutes vs. the hours it takes 2 part resins to cure.  Maybe you are more patient than me!

Add chain and charms as desired and you are done!

Tagged as: Aluminum can jewerly, Magic Glos Resin Tutorial, Valentine's Day Pendant