How to Make a Tree Bark Pendant

Nowadays, fashionable jewelry is just as likely to be made from commonplace scraps as from precious gems and metals, providing a testament to creativity rather than opulent means. Jewelry made from natural plant materials also brings an element of the natural outdoors into a permanent form and part of one's personal look. Tree bark has a distinctive texture that makes for an instantly recognizable jewelry accessory, but the material's properties also provides a few practical challenges for the artisan.

For this project, you will need:

Log with at least ¼ inch thick loose bark

Utility knife

Coin, button or stencils

Oscillating power tool

Routing cutting bit

Carving bit

Semi-precious gem or glass jewelry cabochon

Power drill

Wood hardening solution

Tacky craft glue

Jump ring

Needle-nosed pliers

Jewelry chain or cord

Soak the log in a bucket of water if it's not freshly cut. Let the log air-dry until it's no longer damp enough to the touch to make your fingers noticeably wet; this will approximate the moisture level of fresh wood and keep the bark flexible.

Strip the bark from the log using your fingers and the utility knife. Get the largest single piece you can, or at least one that's large enough to create a pendant or two (about the size of the palm of your hand).

Outline the shape of the pendant you want in the back of the wood in pencil. Freehand draw the shape, or trace an existing pendant or other object of the appropriate shape. Consider tracing a large coin, button, or using a small stencil or cookie cutter to trace a more complex shape.

Cut out the pendant using the router attachment on the oscillating power tool. Work from the smooth wide of the bark to keep track of the pencil outline and get the best shape.

Drill a hole in the bark using the power drill. Position the hole at least a quarter of an inch from the edge of the bark.

Place the cabochon on the rough side of the tree bark. Find a position where you like the look of it on the shape. Trace around the cabochon.

Use the detail grinding attachment to hollow out the area you outlined for the cabochon. Make a recess of about an eighth of an inch.

Soak the piece of bark in wood hardener. Let dry according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Glue the cabochon into the carved recess using tacky craft glue. Let dry.

Thread a jump ring into the hole in the bark pendant using the needle-nosed pliers.

String the pendant onto a jewelry chain or length of jewelry cord. To make the pendant part of a beaded necklace, pair it with earthy beads, such as clay, wood or bone beads in shades of beige and brown.