Vintage Style Hot Glue Gemstones

Hello! Today we’re making vintage looking faux gemstones using hot glue. You'll be surprised what you can do using things you have at home and a kid's toy!

• playdough
• something to roll out / flatten the dough
• objects to press into the dough (see later steps)
• baking paper or silicone
• nail polish
• black acrylic paint
• metallic acrylic paint (gold, silver, bronze etc.)

I'm only joking! ;) But you could in fact use someone else's playdough - it won't be affected and can be returned afterwards.

We will use it to create molds for the hot glue, so either flatten the dough with something flat or roll it out.

Now it's time to find random treasures at home that resemble gemstones when pressed into the playdough.

Here, I rolled a marble back and forth a bit to create an oval shape.

Round shapes seem to work better than faceted gemstones in this project (the facets can come out a bit messy).

For the rim / fake bezel setting, this is one option: Jam a pin needle into a hot glue stick and use that as a tool.

The deeper you go, the higher the rim will be. You can also choose how close the rim will be to the gemstone.

You can really be creative here and use all kinds of objects for completely different outcomes. (Like I mentioned, round gemstone shapes came out better)

Now it's time to fill your mold with hot glue!

The one annoying part about this project is that air bubbles form quite easily. I try to avoid this by starting from the center and slowly making my way outwards, trying not to trap any air. 

Next, you will need baking paper or silicone to press the glue flat. Press gently, because you don’t want your mold to change its shape.

Once it has cooled down, you can remove the glue and clean it with water and a toothbrush. Just make sure not to confuse your toothbrushes afterwards! ;)

The thinner you made the glue, the easier it is to cut off the excess with regular scissors.

It’s painting time!

I’m using nail polish and acrylic paints. Why nail polish? Because you need paint that’s quite glossy for the gemstone. Acrylic paint looks too streaky. 

For the rim, I used black acrylic paint as a base and then added metallic highlights with metallic acrylic paint.

You can also age the gemstone with watered down black acrylic paint. (You could use watercolor as well since you can take it off if you don't like it)

I trimmed the rim and actually didn't ruin it!

When your pieces are painted, they can be made into jewelry.

For example, you can pierce the glue with a map tack and add a matching jump ring.

Or you can glue a ribbon loop to the back instead.

The ring in the last picture is made completely out of hot glue.

You could glue a brooch pin to the back as well - there are many options!

I hope you liked this Instructable!