I can make metal stamped jewelry

Tag: DIY metal stamped jewelry

DIY Galaxy Pendant

Galaxy crafts are everywhere lately so we decided to design a metal stamped version of the concept. This DIY Galaxy Pendant is perfect for summertime with a peasant blouse or a maxi dress. Add a floral headband and a wrist full of stamped and stacked bracelets and you’ll look like you stepped out of Coachella. Plus, you can say you made it yourself, how cool is that? Oh, and if that’s not enough to tickle your fancy, you can make this necklace in about 15 minutes too. Sweet!

*You will need:

ImpressArt Pewter Stamping Blank Square
Czech Crystal Snap Rivet, Teal
Folk Art Enamel Acrylic Paint, Licorice
10-MM Jump Ring, Silver Plated
Gun Metal Plated Chain Necklace With Clasp
ImpressArt Star , Moon, Shooting Star and Sun Stamps
Wood Handle Scratch Awl
Ergo-Angle Metal Stamping Hammer
ImpressArt 2 by 2-Inch Steel Block
ImpressArt Crystal Rivet Setting Kit
ImpressArt 2-Hole Punch, Large
2 pairs ImpressArt Chain Nose Pliers
ImpressArt Stamp Straight Tape
Cotton Swab
Paper Towel

Step one: Stamp the middle, top right and left and bottom left corners of your blank with the sun, moon, star and shooting star from ImpressArt’s Space and Beyond pack. Leave the right bottom corner blank. Step two: Use an awl to stamp tiny stars across the open areas of the blank.

Step three: Use a cotton swab to swipe enamel paint across the surface of your blank, digging it into the recessed areas. Wipe off excess with a paper towel or soft cloth. Step four: Use the smaller (5/8″) side of the ImpressArt large 2-hole punch to pierce a hole in the right bottom corner of the blank.

Step six: Use ImpressArt’s rivet setting tool, mat and the brass hammer to set the rivet into the pierced corner of the blank. Thread the crystal side into the front and the snap side over the back. Turn pendant over and place tool over back of snap. Strike top of tool with hammer. Don’t overdo this, you don’t want to chip or crack your crystal. Make sure it’s secured, you may have to it it a few times. Step seven: Use chain nose pliers to secure a large jump ring to the pendant and thread it on a chain.

There you have it folks, a super simple DIY Galaxy Pendant. Not into the cosmic theme? No worries! You can take this idea in so many directions using ImpressArt Design Stamps. Try Zodiac Stamps, Holiday Stamps or Floral Stamps! Whatever you do, metal stamping lets you tell your story with style.

Cheers,
Margot and Avalon

(Post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we get a small percentage of the sale.)

*DIY Project Policy: Our tutorials are meant for your creative inspiration. Feel free to make and gift or wear these designs. Please make sure that you give credit to us as the designer if you make and share these designs on your blog or social sites. Please do not make and sell copies of our designs or sell them as kits. Please do not teach these designs as classes for profit. This is how we make our living and we ask that you respect our creativity and the time it takes to design, photograph and write these free tutorials. You may use a single photograph from each project online in blog round-ups or blog posts ONLY if you include a direct link back to our tutorial. Any use of these designs for retail sale for profit online in places like Etsy or eBay or in retail bricks and mortar, flea markets or outdoor fairs is not permitted. Thank you!

September 4, 2021
DIY Metal Stamped Earrings

April showers may bring May flowers, but you can bring them even sooner by making these pretty May Flowers DIY Metal Stamped Earrings! Using a design stamp, texture hammer and ImpressArt‘s new SoftStrike blanks you can make stunning boutique chic jewelry in under 30 minutes. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to make these earrings and we’re going to show you how!

You will need:
(*DISCLOSURE)

2 ImpressArt, Pewter Stamping Blanks, River Stone
2 ImpressArt Stamping Blank Circle, 1.25-Inch, Alkeme
2 Beadalon Jump Ring 6mm Silver, Plated
2 Dapped and Spring Ear Wire, Nickel Free Silver Plate
Folk Art Enamel Acrylic Paint, Licorice
Ergo-Angle Metal Stamping Hammer
ImpressArt 2 by 2-Inch Steel Block
Texturing Hammer
ImpressArt Face Chasing Hammer
Double Metal Punch, 1.5mm & 2mm
ImpressArt- 6mm, Tulip Design Stamp
8 Punch Dapping Block Set
Paper towels

Step one: Center your tulip stamp making sure the entire stamp is in contact with the pewter blank. Strike top of stamp once with a firm tap. (Design Tip Don’t hit the stamp more than once to prevent skipped or ghost impressions.) Step two: Use the round end of a ball pein hammer to create texture around the edge of your blank. Step three: add a hole at the center bottom of your blank using the smaller side of the 2-hole punch. Step four: Swipe black acrylic paint, multi-surface paint or jewelry glaze across surface of blank. Allow it to set for a minute and then wipe clean with a paper towel.

Step five: Place blank in dapping block with stamped side facing up. Strike top of dapping tool with your brass hammer, moving the tool around in the dapping block to curve or round your blank. Step six: Strike the blank working from the edges into the center using the texture hammer. Alternate the placement of the hammer so you get a nice variety of marks. Step seven: Add paint. Step eight: Remove paint.

Step Nine: Use smaller side of 2-hole punch to add a hole to the top of each of your textured blanks. Step Ten: Attach the blanks together as shown using pliers to open and close jump ring securely. Step Eleven: Attach ear wire to top of each earring. Step Twelve: Make two!

Would you make and wear these May Flowers DIY Metal Stamped Earrings? How would you style them? Let us know in the comments!

Cheers,
Margot and Avalon

(*FTC DISCLOSURE: There are affiliate links in this post, if you click on a link to make a purchase we get a small percentage of the sale. That’s how we keep the lights on, folks!)

*DIY Project Policy: Our tutorials are meant for your creative inspiration. Feel free to make and gift or wear these designs. Please make sure that you give credit to us as the designer if you make and share these designs on your blog or social sites. Please do not make and sell copies of our designs or sell them as kits. Please do not teach these designs as classes for profit. This is how we make our living and we ask that you respect our creativity and the time it takes to design, photograph and write these free tutorials. You may use a single photograph from each project online if you include a direct link back to our tutorial. Any use of these designs for retail sale for profit online in places like Etsy or eBay or in retail bricks and mortar, flea markets or outdoor fairs is not permitted. Thank you!

June 5, 2021
What You Need to Get Started Metal Stamping

If you are thinking about what it takes to get started metal stamping, there are a handful of essential tools. Here’s a list of our ‘must haves’ for success. You don’t have to buy all of these items, but we think having good tools is the best way to ensure good results. Nothing can turn you off faster than the frustration that comes from using bad tools and making big messes. We’ve talked about the technique basics before, but this is an in depth look at the tools and materials.

Metal Letter Stamps

Yes, it seems rather obvious that you’ll need metal stamps to get started metal stamping, but there are so many different metal stamps on the market that knowing which ones to buy can be confusing. If you’re just starting out and you aren’t ready to make a big investment, a good set of quality economy stamps with an easy to read font in 3mm size is a great place to start. I like to have lower case, upper case and numbers at hand. If you think metal stamping is something you’re going to really love, I’d suggest plated stamps that are also rated higher on the Rockwell Scale. This scale measures the indentation hardness of a metal, meaning this will tell you how deep the impressions will be from your metal stamp. This all depends on the surface you’re stamping and the force with which you stamp. It’s important that you know if you’re stamping into a softer metal like aluminum (a great place to start) or something very hard like stainless steel (this material can wear down your metal stamps over time, so you need stamps designed to handle it.) We published a metal stamping blank hardness chart last week. In the carousel below you’ll find links to a variety of stamps from economy to branded to premium. The prices are significantly different, so if your budget is tight, start with economy stamps and see where they take you. If you really get into stamping, you can also explore Design Stamps, something we’ll talk about in a future post.

Steel Bench Block

We highly suggest that you purchase a steel bench block for metal stamping. Yes, you can stamp on concrete or wood, but you’re not going to get the same quality results. Concrete will scratch and mar the back of your blanks and wood is too soft. You need something hard, smooth, sturdy and flat, a steel block fits the bill! They come in an array of sizes, but a small 2″x2″ block will work fine when you’re starting out. I highly recommend getting a pad to put under your bench block, not a towel. A rubber mat or leather bench pad will work best. You want to be sure the surface stays flat so you get even impressions. The pad will also help keep the noise down, as you can imagine, metal stamping is very, very loud. Our doggies do not like it at all.

Brass Hammer

Yes, you can use a steel hammer, but the problem with steel is that the energy of your hits will transfer back into the hammer. This can cause the hammer to bounce back when you strike and create skipped or ghost impressions. Brass is softer than steel, it will take the impact of the hit and transfer the energy into the blank, helping you make deeper impressions. We love the ImpressArt Brass 1 Pound Hammer, not just because we work with ImpressArt, but because it’s a brilliant design. The short, stubby, grip friendly handle makes it easy to swing and keeps the momentum where it belongs, in the hammer head.

Metal Stamping Blanks

When you’re first starting out, metal stamping blanks are the best place to hone your technique. Eventually if you really get into stamping, you will probably start looking for other things to stamp like pennies, silverware, tin cans…or whatever else you think will make for great metal stamped jewelry or decor. Metal stamping blanks come in a wide array of sizes, shapes and metals. For the novice, we think aluminum is your best starting point. It’s very easy to stamp and very inexpensive. As your stamping improves you can move up to pewter, copper, brass and nickel silver. If you want to take things to another level you can try sterling silver or alkeme (a less expensive sterling alternative.) You can buy sheets of metal for practice if you want to just get a feel for the swing of the hammer and the force you need to make impact. We suggest starting with basic shapes like circles, ovals, sticks and squares and then working your way to washers and other shapes.

Tape

One of the biggest challenges in metal stamping is planning and aligning your words and letters. We have found that using masking or white plastic tape is a huge help in getting things lined up properly and securing your blanks to prevent them from slipping when you hit them. You can use a marker and a ruler to plan placement of your letters. You can also use the top of the tape to keep the letters in your words all at the same level. Try Stamp Straight Tape from ImpressArt, we love it!

There are lots of other fun tools and materials you can add to your arsenal if you get deeper into metal stamping, but this is the best place to get started metal stamping. We’ve included image and text links to products you can buy. Just an FYI, we use affiliate marketing on our site so if you click on a link and make a purchase you get a small percentage of the sale. This is how we can afford to give away our tutorials and articles for free. Within the next few months, we’ll have products and kits you can buy from us directly, stay tuned. We’re excited and we hope you are too!

Happy Stamping,
Margot and Avalon

May 12, 2021
DIY Hammered Metal Stamped Necklace

(*FTC DISCLOSURE BELOW)

“What we think, we become.” Buddha

Base metal stamping blanks can look a little, well, cheap. Adding texture helps take them from meh to marvelous, and it’s very easy to do. The concept for this hammered metal stamped necklace started with some gold Buddha charms we found on clearance at a big craft chain. We love positive, uplifting jewelry. Plus, it’s pretty! You’ll learn how to add texture, stamp along the edge and add holes at the top of the heart to turn this into a necklace.

What you need:
ImpressArt, Heart, Brass, 1 1/2″ Stamping Blank
Antique Brass Buddha Head Charms
2 8″ segments 22K Gold Plated Slim Rolo Chain
10mm Gold Plated Clasp
4 10mm 6mm Jump Rings
Folk Art Enamel Acrylic Paint, Licorice
Cloth or paper towel
Wood Handle Scratch Awl
Beadalon Ball Pein Hammer
ImpressArt Metal Stamping Kit- Newsprint Lowercase
ImpressArt Stamp Straight Tape
ImpressArt Hole Punch Pliers
Marker

Step one: Place your blank on the bench block and use the round or ball end of a ball pein hammer to add texture. Strike it all over, including along the sides to create a hammered finish. Don’t hit it too hard, or too soft, somewhere in between. The blank may start to curl a little as you hammer, but don’t worry. When you finish you can turn it over and use the flat side of the ball peen hammer or the brass hammer to flatten it. Step two: Tape the hammered blank down to the bench block. Stamp along the curve of the left edge. Space your stamps out evenly as you go. I didn’t mark these, but you can use a ruler and a pencil to help mark even placement. Finish by adding a period using an awl or a period punctuation stamp. Strike the top of the awl with your brass hammer, don’t overdo this or you could pierce the blank.

Step three: Wipe some Martha Stewart jewelry glaze across the letters. Let it sit for a few seconds, then wipe it off with a paper towel or cloth. Step four: The drill holes should be placed at the top center of both sides of the heart. You can use a marker and a ruler or you can eyeball this. Use the smaller side of the 2-hole punch, twisting it down until you feel it pierce the metal, then twisting it back up to remove it from the tool. You don’t have to screw the tool all of the way down, that can potentially scratch or mar the metal. Just twist until you feel that release and then remove it.

Step five: Use chain and bent nose pliers to attach the charm and the jump rings to the pendant. (Here’s a video to help if you’ve never done this before.) Step six: Attach the chain to the jump rings on your pendant and attach a jump ring to one open end and a jump ring and clasp to the other.

Make a hammered metal stamped necklace and become…fabulous! We love adding texture to our metal pieces, even without adding text it gives them an artisan appeal. You can do so much with this technique, try only hammering the edges, or half of the blank or mix hammered and polished pieces in one design. So much to love here! Just so you know, as you are hammering a piece of metal you are actually changing the molecular structure. This is called work hardening. The key is not to over hammer, or the metal can become brittle. Softer metals can be strengthened by hammering, it works very well on soft jewelry wire when making findings like ear wires or clasps. Stay tuned, because we’ll be showing you how to make your own findings in upcoming posts.

Cheers,
Margot and Avalon

(*FTC DISCLOSURE: Post contains affiliate links, if you click on a link and make a purchase we get a small percentage of the sale. That’s how we keep the lights on, folks!)

*DIY Project Policy: Our tutorials are meant for your creative inspiration. Feel free to make and gift or wear these designs. Please make sure that you give credit to us as the designer if you make and share these designs on your blog or social sites. Please do not make and sell copies of our designs or sell them as kits. Please do not teach these designs as classes for profit. This is how we make our living and we ask that you respect our creativity and the time it takes to design, photograph and write these free tutorials. You may use a single photograph from each project online if you include a direct link back to our tutorial. Any use of these designs for retail sale for profit online in places like Etsy or eBay or in retail bricks and mortar, flea markets or outdoor fairs is not permitted. Thank you!

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February 22, 2021
Metal Stamped Positive Affirmations Necklace

Staying on the sunny side, seeing the glass half full, focusing on the blessings, choosing joy, however you want to frame it, positive affirmations really do work. We get that upon which we focus, so focus on the joy and let the rest fall away. Here’s a lovely metal stamped necklace you can wear to remind yourself of the good stuff. These rectangle blanks make it easy for the beginner to be successful stamping, no worrying about lining the letters up horizontally! Just start in the center and work your way up and down. Just one swift tap of your hammer and you’re good to go. Add some faceted glass and SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS beads to add sparkle and you’re sure to garner tons of compliments. I wore this design to a trade show and everyone loved it. Here’s how you can make a Metal Stamped Positive Affirmations Necklace (and some matching Yes, This earrings) of your own!

You will need:
9 ImpressArt, Pewter Stamping Blanks, Rectangle (7 for necklace, 2 for earrings)
11 Preciosa Czech Fire 8mm Polished Glass Bead, Faceted Round, Half Coating Silver, 100-Pack
12 Swarovski Crystal 5000 6mm Jet Faceted Round Beads
8 SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Crystal Moon Pendant #6722 20mm Crystal AB
4 SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS Crystal #5000 4mm Round Beads Jet
2 4mm Freshwater Pearl Beads
43 Beadalon 10-MM Jump Rings Silver Plated
18″ Beadalon Chain Rolo Large Silver Plated
Beadalon Lobster Clasp Swivel
2 Beadalon Dapped and Spring Ear Wire
Beadalon Ball Tipped Head Pin
ImpressArt- Basic Newsprint Uppercase Font Set
ImpressArt Design Stamps, 6mm, Daisy
Folk Art Enamel Acrylic Paint, Licorice
Paper towel
Ergo-Angle Metal Stamping Hammer
ImpressArt 2 by 2-Inch Steel Block
Beadalon Leather Pad For Block and Anvil
ImpressArt Stamp Straight Tape
ImpressArt Chain Nose Pliers
ImpressArt Bent Nose Pliers
Beadalon Round Nose Pliers

1. Stamp words on blanks. Tape top of blanks to keep them stable and start in center working up and down blank. Stamp necklace blanks: create, sparkle, smile, give, love, create. I added a daisy to the center ‘love’ blank for fun. Stamp earring blanks: yes, this. 2. Use black paint or a Sharpie marker to ink letters. Wipe clean. 3. Make coiled top dangles with your beads. Slide bead on wire, grasp top of wire with round nose pliers and bend wire flush to the top of bead as shown. 4. Move pliers 1/2 turn. Use chain nose pliers or your fingers to coil wire tail tightly around core wire as in photo. Cut off excess wire with flush cutters and tuck the little extra wire into the bottom of the coil with chain nose pliers. (Here’s a link to my video that shows you how to make wrapped head pin beads if you’ve never done this before!)

5. This is how your coiled beads should look when finished! 6. Open jump rings to attach the beads and pendants starting at the center and moving side to side. (Here’s a link to my video on how to open and close jump rings below in case you’ve never done this before!) 7. Attach the final beads. Attach the clasp to once side of the chain and a jump ring to the other. To make matching earrings, coil the smaller beads and attach them along with the stamped pendants to your ear wires using jump rings.

Wear your Metal Stamped Positive Affirmations Necklace with pride because, you made it yourself! Yes, this.

Cheers,
Margot and Avalon

*DIY Project Policy: Our tutorials are meant for your creative inspiration. Feel free to make and gift or wear these designs. Please make sure that you give credit to us as the designer if you make and share these designs on your blog or social sites. Please do not make and sell copies of our designs or sell them as kits. Please do not teach these designs as classes for profit. This is how we make our living and we ask that you respect our creativity and the time it takes to design, photograph and write these free tutorials. You may use a single photograph from each project online in blog round-ups or blog posts if you include a direct link back to our tutorial. Any use of these designs for retail sale for profit online in places like Etsy or eBay or in retail bricks and mortar, flea markets or outdoor fairs is not permitted. Thank you!

(This blog uses affiliates links, if you click on them and make a purchase, we get a small percentage of the sale. That’s how we keep the lights on, folks!)

September 18, 2020
Shine DIY Metal Stamped Layered Necklace

This Shine DIY Metal Stamped Layered Necklace is simple, striking, and layered with a lot of shine and sparkle. If you’re making this, you’ll be hammering, stamping, dapping and creating a coiled dangle, lots to learn and love! When you finish, you’ve got a little bauble that reminds you to shine your little light in the darkness. How cool is that?

You will need:

Folk Art Enamel Acrylic Paint, Licorice
ImpressArt, 8 Petal Flower, Copper, 15/16″ Stamping Blank
ImpressArt, 6 Petal Flower, Nickel Silver, 1″ Stamping Blank
Preciosa Czech Fire 8mm Polished Glass Bead, Faceted Round, Full Coating Silver, 75-Pack
Beadalon 10-MM Jump Ring, Nickel Free Silver Plate
Head Pins Ball Ends Ball Tips
Head Pins Ball Ends Ball Tips
Jewelry Ball Chain Necklaces with Lobster Clasp, 18-Inch, Bright Silver
ImpressArt Uppercase Alphabet Stamps ‘Newsprint’ 1/8 Inch (3mm) – 1 Set
ImpressArt 1 Pound Metal Stamping Hammer
ImpressArt 2 by 2-Inch Steel Block
Metal 2 Hole Punch
ImpressArt Stamp Straight Tape
ImpressArt Chasing Hammer
Round Nose Pliers
Bent Chain Nose Pliers
Flush Cutters
Dapping Block Set
Cotton swab
Paper towel

Step one: Use the round end of your chasing hammer to strike the blanks repeatedly creating hammered texture. Step two: Stamp S H I N E on your larger blank, one letter per petal. This leaves one petal unstamped. Step three: Use two-hole punch to pierce a hole in the unstamped petal of your flower. Add a hole to one petal of the copper flower. To darken the letters, use black enamel paint. Use a cotton swab to wipe the paint into the letters. Wipe off excess with a paper towel. Step four: Place copper flower in dapping block and use corresponding punch and your brass hammer to curve the shape as in photo. Hammer flat end of punch while moving round end in form on each hit to get a rounded shape.

Step five: Make the coiled dangle. Insert head pin into bead. Grasp wire at top of bead with round nose pliers. Bend wire to a 90 degree angle. Step six: Move pliers 1/2 turn. Grasp wire and bend over top of pliers forming loop. Grasp wire tail with chain nose pliers and wrap tightly from bottom of loop to top of bead. Step seven: Nip off wire tail with wire cutters. Tuck remaining tail into bottom of coil with chain nose pliers. Step eight: Use chain and bent nose pliers to open jump ring. Thread large pendant, small pendant and bead on jump ring in that order. Close jump ring securely with tension.

You’ll love the movement of this necklace when you wear it. The hammered metal and faceted bead give it lots of sparkle!

That’s how you make our Shine DIY Metal Stamped Layered Necklace. Fun, fast and fabulous. You can change the words, fonts, colors of metals and beads to make this uniquely your own. That’s the fun of metal stamping, you get to share your story. What story are you going to share?

Happy stamping,
Margot and Avalon

*DIY Project Policy: Our tutorials are meant for your creative inspiration. Feel free to make and gift or wear these designs. Please make sure that you give credit to us as the designer if you make and share these designs on your blog or social sites. Please do not make and sell copies of our designs or sell them as kits. Please do not teach these designs as classes for profit. This is how we make our living and we ask that you respect our creativity and the time it takes to design, photograph and write these free tutorials. You may use a single photograph from each project online if you include a direct link back to our tutorial. Any use of these designs for retail sale for profit online in places like Etsy or eBay or in retail bricks and mortar, flea markets or outdoor fairs is not permitted. Thank you!

July 6, 2020