How do you make a photo dog tag?
I get this question so often through my website so I thought I would answer it here instead of emailing each person separately.
You can either make your own images or buy pre-made images to use on your dog tags. If you go to http://www.etsy.com/ and type in dog tag images you will find any kind of images you need. You need to print the photos on photo paper. Some photo paper may need to be sealed with an acrylic spray sealer so the colors don't bleed. If you are having them printed at a professional photo lab you should not need to seal the images. Once you have the images printed out you will need to hand cut them or if you have been lucky enough to get your hands on an EK Success ID Tag Punch (discontinued) then you can punch them out. You will glue your images down onto the dog tag (front or back or both sides........it's your personal preference). You can use a regular photo safe glue stick, photo safe scrapbooking glue OR my all time favorite glue for the dog tags is Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive. Once you get the images glued down this is the point where you will need to spray seal the images (if you have not had them professionally printed or if you don't have a dye-sub printer or laser printer at home). Give the images a few hours (at least) to dry. When you are ready to use the resin (I use Envirotex Lite) just double check to make sure your images are totally glued down and dry. Lay your dog tags onto a flat surface covered with wax paper. Mix your EQUAL parts resin. This part is VERY important. If you don't have equal parts the resin will not harden correctly. I use disposable plastic medicine cups and popsicle sticks to mix the resin. You need to mix the resin very well. You will have a TON of bubbles and this is normal and means you are doing it right. I scoop the resin onto the dog tag using the popsicle stick and then spread the resin all over the image and VERY carefully spread to the very edges of the image and over onto the dog tag. You need to take your time so you don't spill over the edges. If you do spill over the edge, use your finger nail to "push" the dog tag out of the way out of the resin. Once you get your resin spread out give it a good 10 minutes for the bubbles to rise to the top. At this point you will need to de-gas the bubbles. I use a heat embossing tool that I bought from Michaels. It is basically like a little hair dryer (it blows out hot air). Some people use a torch lighter and lightly go over the top of the resin to pop the bubbles. You will need to "watch" the dog tags for a good 45 minutes-1 hour for more bubbles that may pop up and also look for any dust or lint that may find their way into the resin. When that happens you can simply take a toothpick to scoop it out (cleaning off your toothpick as you go onto a paper towel). Once the dog tags are TOTALLY dry (cured......at LEAST 48 hours) then you can flip them over and drill a hole with a Dremel or "girly drill" (that's what I have right now) right back through the dog tag. Then you can slip a ball chain through the hole, or put a split ring through the hole and make a satin cord or ribbon necklace.
Where can I find the supplies to make dog tag necklaces?
There are several online places that sell the supplies. There are several Yahoo groups that do "group buys" so everyone can get the supplies at a discounted rate buying in bulk.
Where can I get a template to make my own images?
I have a FREE oversized template that I share with people. This template can be used to hand cut OR with the EK Success ID Tag Punch. Simply compose an email to me at:
QBTots@gmail.com
And in the subject line type in:
id punch template
And the template will be sent to you automatically. The template is done in Photoshop but can be opened in Paint Shop as well.
