You don’t have to be Frank Sinatra to do things your own way! That’s the beauty of metal stamping as a jewelry technique. Not only do you get to assemble components, you get to make your own components – and they can say whatever you want them to say!
This Young Love bracelet is a perfect example of how you can easily customize jewelry with metal stamps!
Letter stamps are the perfect way to create monogram jewelry, plus jewelry with names or inspirational sayings. Design metal stamps are the perfect way to add cuteness and panache.
Learn to make these simple metal stamped earrings – just click the image above for the complete parts, ready to buy.
Designer Amy Mickelson’s “Hootie and the Sodalite Earrings” feature custom owl charms she made using an ImpressArt Metal Stamp and a JBB Antiqued Copper Plated Square Tag Charm. These JBB tags are plated especially for stampers – pretty amazing! For more on these components, see the full parts list and tutorial here.
First, gather your supplies.
The basics of jewelry stamping are easy and only require a few tools. The tools are a small investment, but will last for years and thousands of impressions!
Supplies you’ll want:
- Letter stamps and/or design stamps
- A steel bench block (the block pictured is #69-123 combo block)
- A Brass hammer (the hammer pictured is #69-346)
- Metal blanks & tags – choose from 100’s of options!
- Optional: Stamp Straight Tape
The basic steps to jewelry stamping:
Once you’ve planned your design, secure your metal tag or blank onto your steel block with tape. Stamp Straight Tape by ImpressArt is more expensive than masking tape, but it offers a sturdier edge and does not leave sticky residue.
Strike the perfectly vertical stamp with one firm blow. This is important for achieving a clear impression.
Now you’ve got a custom made charm that’s uniquely made by you!
That’s all there is to it! It really is that simple. Then, you can use your completed stamped charms to make earrings, necklaces, bracelets, gift tags, and more!
Click this picture for all the parts and instructions you need to make these pretty necklaces.
For a great monogram jewelry tutorial, see “Ava’s Ladies in Waiting” Necklace Tutorial in our Design Gallery.
Click this picture for all the parts and instructions you need to make adorable metal stamped owl earrings.
To make fun owl earrings, see the “Hootie and the Sodalite” Earrings Tutorial.
Click this picture for all the parts and instructions you need to make a simple metal stamped bracelet.
For the full how-to on making a metal stamped chain bracelet, see our “Young Love” Bracelet Tutorial.
Rings & Things offers a huge variety of metal stamping blanks, plus jewelry stamping tools and supplies with fast shipping and free returns.
So what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time to say things your way! ~ Melissa
3 Comments
Really like the young love bracelet and the Owl earrings are really cute. I’ve tried stamping its not as easy as it looks.
Hi Stuart,
I’ve found that the difficulty varies with a few factors:
* Copper and sterling are easier to stamp than brass and nickel.
* It’s easier to get a good impression using small stamps, than it is with bigger stamps.
* Some stamps are tougher — I have an embarassingly tough time with this lotus stamp:
https://shop.rings-things.com/cart/pc/EURO-TOOL-Stamp-Lotus-p20087.htm but great success with nearly all the letter and number stamps:
https://shop.rings-things.com/cart/pc/Metal-Stamping-Tools-Metal-Stamping-Supplies-c2036.htm
I also had a lot of fun making “bubbles” on wine/champagne marker charms for a local restaurant’s wine club, using these circle stamps:
https://shop.rings-things.com/cart/pc/The-BeadSmith-Metal-Stamp-Circle-Set-p30366.htm – They worked great every time.
Also – I never try to line up my letters perfectly straight. That spells DOOM to me. I always allow (encourage) my quotes and words to meander a bit, giving them a good hand-crafted look. Plus of course, if I’m a little more off than I intended to be, it doesn’t look like a horrible accident.
I hope this helps for next time you give metal stamping a try! ~Polly
if you are feeling froggy it might help to anneal the metals with a hand torch to soften it before stamping , then flip it over and whack it gently with a rubber or plastic mallet to flatten out any denting or uneven stamping… then anneal again and quench in cool water, gonna need to use a pickle pot too prolly, i mean if you got the tools and the time, gonna wanna practice on some scrap first either way.