Feb 12th 2020

Learn How To Make DIY Personalized Jewelry With Metal Stamping Tools

by Thomas Soles

Would you like an introduction to metal stamping and custom jewelry? We have metal letter stamps and tools on our shelves that are perfect for making a name necklace and other personalized jewelry. Make mom jewelry that she will love. Make a cuff bracelet with all of your children's names on it. We have some fun videos that show you how easy it is to learn how to stamp metal jewelry. Check out our blog and learn how to emboss a pendant and make your handmade crafts one-of-a-kind!

Treat yourself to some custom jewelry. Wouldn't it be fun to have an embossed monogram necklace? There are so many unique applications for metal stamps and blanks. Show everybody how you feel with a simple worded necklace, choose something that has deep personal meaning. At Soft Flex Company, we have made name jewelry with our children's names. We have made textured metal earrings. We have used metal blanks as focal beads for necklaces. We have some fantastic and creative ideas and we would love to share them with you!

Send a heartfelt message on your next name necklace. Gift a friend a piece of handcrafted jewelry for Valentine's Day. Or just use your metal stamping tools to make designs for yourself. Put some personality into your bracelets with your favorite band or song. Let your voice be heard in your handcrafted jewelry.

Metal Stamping Gratitude Necklace With Soft Flex Beading Wire: How to Make Jewelry with Sara Oehler

In November, we added some new metal stamping supplies to our inventory. We stocked up with Multi-Function Hammer Kits, Blanks, Stamping Blocks, typewriter-style letter stamps, and more. We also felt like a seasonal symbol would be fun for the holidays. Snowflakes were a hit. They paired well with our Snow Queen Design Kit and bead strand. Sara gave us the low down on the latest tools and then made a gratitude necklace to show how everything works and how easy it is to stamp metal jewelry.

Metal Stamping Gratitude Necklace with Soft Flex Beading Wire by Sara Oehler

This is a great video for beginner stampers. It offers a lot of insight on how to use metal stamping tools and how to patina or color your embossed symbols or fonts. Sara used a Vintaj blank for this video and learned how to paint it while a live audience watched. It is always fun to watch a confident creator in action. She made a fun pendant on her first try, but it wasn't without hiccups. Watching her adapt and overcome is part of the fun!

Metal Stamping Gratitude Necklace with Soft Flex Beading Wire by Sara Oehler

Supplies:
ImpressArt Multi-Function Hammer Kit
Vintaj Blank
ImpressArt Letter Stamps - Basic Typewriter 3mm font. Uppercase set
ImpressArt Enamel Marker - Black
ImpressArt Large Steel Bench Block
ImpressArt Design Stamp - Snowflake
ImpressArt Stamp Straight Tape for Metal Stamping Jewelry

Metal Stamping Gratitude Necklace with Soft Flex Beading Wire by Sara Oehler

Helpful Tips For The Beginner: Metal Stamping 101

Well. Now that we have seen Sara in action and have a good idea what tools are involved in the process for making a gratitude necklace, let's break down some of the tools for stamping fonts and symbols and figure out what we need to know to get started!

This handy dandy enamel marker is your new best friend, fellow stamper. This marker is contains an acrylic ink that is great for marking projects before you stamp them and then coloring your blanks so the embossed stamps really stand out.

To use as a marking tool - you can use it to make notes on the locations where you plan to place your stamps.

To color your stamps - simply run the tip of your marker over the stamped area from left to right, wait 3-5 minutes, and wipe away excess ink with a paper towel.

Straight tape is your guide for great jewelry. Tape your blanks down to your bench block so they cannot shift and move. You can now make notes on the tape with the marker. Jot the areas where you plan to leave a stamp before you even start. This will be a great way to see where your embossed fonts and symbols will end up. The tape will also ensure that your text is in a straight and neat line.

Just remember. These projects are yours. They do not have to be perfect - part of the charm of handcrafted projects is that they are not technically flawless. Also, If you do not want to place stamps in a linear and even order, you can make your handcrafted blanks however you see fit! Place text in crazy spots - get wild!

Oh goodness. You are going to be striking metal against metal. You definitely do not want to break your counter tops in the process. This bench block will make everything easier and take the load of your poor kitchen or studio surfaces. Use it to shape, flatten, texture, and stamp your metals. The rubber feet on the block will absorb your hammer blows.

Starting out, you may find that when you strike your fonts or symbols that they like to move. If you strike them more than once, you are likely to get a double impression on your blanks. You will figure out how to secure them after a project or two. Maybe start out with a practice blank and get some good hits in. Once you get more confident, you can learn how to finish your stamp with a single strike and never have to worry about a double impression.

Finally, you may wonder how to get your text centered. It may seem like you are too close to one end or another when stamping. You can remedy this by starting in the very center with your tape and marker. Before you begin, count the letters in the word you are planning. When you tape your blank down, note the very middle with a marker indication and radiate outward with marks on each end with your word count, instead of left to right or right to left. So, if there are seven letters, find the center letter and count three out on each end, from the center. You will get the hang of it in no time!

Metal Stamp Texture Earrings with Soft Flex Wire

Kristen wanted to share her tips on how to texture metal. For this video, she used a pristine pair of blank drops. She weathered and aged them with some hammer strikes. The texturing tool she used is part of the ImpressArt Multi-Function Hammer Kit. When she finished, she had an amazing set of unique handmade earrings.

Metal Stamped Earrings by Kristen Fagan

From Kristen:

I will be sharing how our newest line of tools and metal jewelry blanks work to create texture. Then we'll make a pair of earrings with beads and the wire colors from our 2019 Fall/Winter Pantone Quad beading wire pack.

Metal Stamped Earrings by Kristen Fagan

Supplies:
ImpressArt Multi-Function Hammer Kit
ImpressArt Large Steel Bench Block
ImpressArt Premium Stamping Blank - Drop 2pk
Texture Stamp – Sprinkle Pattern Texture Design (Included with Hammer)
Ear Wires
Cutters
Crimping Pliers
Soft Flex .019/Medium Diameter Wire
2x2mm Crimp Tubes

Metal Stamped Earrings by Kristen Fagan

These hand stamped earrings look fabulous. You can add a name or patina them. Give them your personality with color. Add some beads that you love or a splash of vibrant paint. Gorgeous and effortless quality!

Metal Stamped Earrings by Kristen Fagan

Metal Stamping and SilverSilk Demonstration

Kristen made an absolutely stunning necklace for this video. Metal stamping tools, SilverSilk Pearlesque Chain, and Soft Flex Craft Wire came together and made some real magic. Follow along if you would like to replicate this stunning piece of jewelry. It is so simple. But it is wonderfully eye catching.