Cracked Marble Pendant!

Cracked marbles are so pretty when held up to the light - and so easy to make!

I first saw this project on a message board and HAD to try to recreate the effect!

You will need:

• Transparent Glass Marbles - Marbles can be lightly tinted but completely opaque marbles won't work for this project
• Baking Pan - I used a tart pan
• Oven
• Bowl Filled with Ice Water
• Eyelet Pins
• Bead Caps
• Necklace Chain or Jewelry Cording
• Jump Rings
• Pliers
• Wire Cutter
• E6000 glue

I found these marbles in a Chinese Checkers game. They have an opaque center but are mostly transparent. Transparency is key - you won't be able to see the inner cracks if you use opaque marbles.

Put your marbles in a pan -  I like using a tart pan since it has a built-in ring and ridges. The ridges keep the marbles in place while the sides are high enough to keep them from sliding out of the pan.

Fill a medium sized bowl with ice and enough water to cover the ice.

Place marbles in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 20 minutes (oven temps may vary - lower temps did not work for me!).

Using an oven mitt, quickly pour the marbles directly into the ice water. Let them stay in the water for 15 minutes or so.

VERY IMPORTANT: Your results may vary and the marbles may not crack enough. Start over! Do not reheat the marbles! They will crack completely and you'll be left with bits of glass. Ask me how I know ...

Let marbles dry completely. They are now ready to make into pendants.

NOTE: E6000 is very smelly. Use outdoors, in the garage or in an extremely well-ventilated area.

Stick an eyelet pin through the top of a bead cap. Bend the eyelet pin so that it stays in the bead cap and trim off excess wire.

Place a dollop of E6000 in the bead cap. The amount of E6000 should slightly overfill the bead cap without spilling over.

Place the bead in the bead cap and let sit for 48 hours. You may be overcome with curiosity and want to poke it, prod it, pick it up and/or touch it. Resist the temptation! Just leave it alone so that the E6000 can create a strong and lasting bond.

Add a small jump ring to the eyelet pin.

Place the pendant onto your chain or cord. Knot, if needed.

I use these marbles (without jewelry findings) as decorative centers for ornaments and paper flowers: