Welcome! It’s Day 3 of our Jewelry Around the World Promotion, and we’re so excited to share all of these DIY jewelry projects with you. These Stamped Enameled Pendants include a free tutorial for one of the coolest crafting techniques ever, and we can’t wait to give it a go!
Hi friends! I’m Adrianne from Happy Hour Projects, and I’m happy to be here sharing a DIY jewelry project that’s close to my heart with you today as part of Craft Paper Scissors’ Jewelry Around The World theme. I have to confess: I’m not nearly as well-traveled as I wish I was! I’ve done extensive traveling around my home state: the beautiful Great Lakes State! If you have never visited Michigan, then put it on your list because there’s so much beauty here (just plan your trip during the summer)! But, it seems perfectly fitting that I share a piece that represents the place that provides me with so much inspiration.
I know you probably aren’t familiar with my style, but I’m a big fan of mixed media jewelry. I’ll be touching on a few of my favorite jewelry making techniques in this piece – and hopefully taking some of the mystery out of basic metal techniques, if you haven’t tried them before. I’ll be listing the specific supplies that I used for today’s DIY necklace project in case something catches your eye, but this piece is meant to inspire you to think about what’s beautiful about your favorite place! Think about your favorite place to vacation, or a spot you dream about visiting one day. Imagine the colors that represent it, and the special things it’s known for. I’ll be sharing what inspired my choices as I teach you how to make your own stamped and enameled pendant necklace.
The tools and supplies I used are as follows:
- ImpressArt .75″ square pewter blank
- ImpressArt .50″ pewter tag
- ImpressArt metal stamps in Newsprint font
- Heart-shaped metal stamp
- Steel bench block
- 1 lb. brass stamping hammer
- Die-cut vinyl in the shape of your state or country, small enough to fit your pendant blank
- Black acrylic paint dabber
- Metal polishing cloth
- Susan Lenart Iced Enamels Adhesive Medium and paintbrush
- Susan Lenart Iced Enamels Relique Powder in Turquoise
- Crafting heat tool (often used in scrapbooking)
- Ice Resin and mixing cups
- 3.7mm Tierracast copper eyelets
- Tierracast eyelet setter and stabilizing block
- 3/32″ metal hole punch
- 2- 7mm jump rings (one for each pendant and charm added) and pliers
- 18″ – 2mm size cable chain necklace
- Masking tape to secure your work, and paper towel for your workspace
Great Lakes Stamped Enameled DIY Necklace
First things first: I began by die-cutting a small scrap of vinyl in the shape of my state. You can often order these pretty inexpensively on Etsy. If you also have a paper-crafting addiction like yours truly, then you can use your electronic die-cutting machine to cut your own. I used my Silhouette machine, and the free cut files for all 50 states that I found here. You will only need the shape of the state to add enamel to your pendant, but because I wished to stamp it with the sentiment, “home”, I used the outline as a guide for where to center my letters.
Metal stamping is one of my passions. To mark off where you’d like to add your word or initials, the best way to start is to add a line of masking tape or washi tape to serve as the line to stamp on. You’ll be able to rest your stamp right along that edge to keep your stamping as straight as possible. Then, stamp each letter, one at a time. I begin on the left and work to the right. Place your stamp vertically, and strike it once with a 1-lb hammer, until each letter is complete. It won’t be perfect, but that’s part of the process of stamping by hand.
To darken the impressions of the letters, I often use acrylic paint. Just rub it on, so that the paint fills each impression fully. Then, wipe off the paint before it dries and polish it gently with a polishing cloth to return a shiny appearance to the metal.
At this point, you will need to place the shape of your state on your metal blank. I made sure I had it centered by adding it to the “hole” in the vinyl and then removing the outer part.
Next, I cold-enameled my pendant to represent all the gorgeous lakes we have here. You can just barely see the pink vinyl peeking out from under the Relique powder – just paint the adhesive medium on the outer parts of the metal blank, sprinkle on the powder, and dump off any excess. It’s helpful to work on a surface like a paper towel, so that you can easily put the excess powder back into the pot. I chose turquoise for the obvious reason that blue is beautiful for water, but there are also tiny copper flecks in it as well. Michigan is known for copper mining, especially in the north – making it the perfect color to give meaning to my piece.
When the powder is clinging to all the areas you wish to enamel, use a craft heating tool about an inch or two from the powder. After about 30 seconds, you will notice the powder beginning to melt, and even bubble a little. When the entire surface has melted, set it aside to cool a little. Carefully remove the vinyl shapes from the metal blank, revealing a stenciled outline of enamel. I did this while it was still warm, but not hot to the touch. Be careful not to burn yourself when you’re heating metal! Allow it to cool fully, and then mix up a small amount of Ice Resin. Brush the enameled areas with the resin to give it an extra layer of protection. Set it aside, and allow it to dry. This can take several hours, and you want to wait until it’s no longer tacky before continuing.
Finally, I finished off the hole in my pendant with a copper eyelet. This step is completely optional, but not only does it tie in with the hints of copper in the enamel, but it also finishes holes quite nicely by framing them up.
Eyelet setters come with two parts: the hand tool, and the base. Place the eyelet onto the base, curved side down (it will have a little nub to hold it in place) and then place the pendant’s hole over it, so that it sticks up on the other side. Position the hand tool (which will also have a nub) on the inside of the flat end of the eyelet. Tap it with your hammer a few times, rotating it as you go. This will curve the back side of the eyelet around your piece.
I also chose to stamp a tiny charm with “GR” – Grand Rapids, my home city! You could add the shape of something special to the region, or even your own initials here. First add a jump ring to each charm and to the pendant, then string it on an 18″ chain (or your favorite length). You’ll always be able to keep that special place with you by wearing it proudly!
Thanks for joining me today, it’s been a pleasure sharing some of my favorite things with all of you!
BONUS GIVEAWAY!!!
Enter to win the Polymer Clay Design giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a copy of Polymer Clay Global Perspectives, 6 bars of Premo! Sculpey Accents in Pearls, 6 bar of Premo! Sculpey in Classics, and an 11 piece Sculpey tool set.. The deadline to enter is August 20, 2015, at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
We’re also big fans of the Great Lakes! Where is your favorite place to travel?
Plus, don’t forget to share your jewelry making skills with #jewelryaroundtheworld!
Keep up with Jewelry Around the World and see our other jewelry tutorials here!
