Sunny Vanilla: Blog Swap with One Artsy Mama + Giveaway

Hey everyone! I'm swapping blogs today with one crafty and talented gal - Amy at One Artsy Mama! Come check me out over on her blog after you read this great tutorial on metal stamping. And don't forget to enter both of our giveaways going on!!! Okay, show us what cha got Amy. Hi Sunny Vanilla readers! I'm Amy, aka, One Artsy Mama, and I'm so excited to be here today to share a project and giveaway with you! {I'm also thrilled that Jen is returning the favor on my blog, so be sure to stop by and get your entries in for a pair of her tye-dyed socks!} I'm a lover of all things creative, and I'm passionate about Jesus, dance, Ravens football, and my family. I've been married to my best friend for ten years now, and although I'm also a dance instructor, my main job right now is being mama to my "Little Crafter".

Aren't my boys handsome?!

Today I'm going to be sharing a brand new hobby with you! I've been making jewelry since April, but just got the supplies for Christmas to try my hand at metal stamping, which is exciting and intimidating at the same time! Here's a quick tutorial for how to make a simple pendant like this one:

COURAGE PENDANT

Here's the materials you'll need:

PENDANT:

- steel stamping block

- steel hammer

- blank discs

- set of stamps {I have upper and lowercase alphabet and numbers}

- black Sharpie

- tissues or polishing cloth

- painters tape

ADD ONS:
- pearl

- head pins, jump rings

- jewelry tools: needle nose pliers, wire cutters

- necklace chain

The discs are available in a large variety of shapes, sizes, and metals. I chose a circle for mine, but there are hearts, squares, rectangles, and all kinds of other options. Play around to see what you like best! Some just have a hole drilled, so you need to add a jump ring, while others already have something attached, like the one I'm using in this tutorial.

STEP 1: Choose your word{s}. Names, birthdates, or anything significant to you makes for a great pendant. I chose COURAGE because it's my word of the year. If you're curious why, you can read all about it {and my New Year's Day helicopter ride} here.

STEP 2: Tape your pendant to the steel block to hold it in place. If you're stamping your word in a straight line, the tape can also act as a guide for your letters.

STEP 3: Line up the letters you need and figure out which one will need to be in the center.

STEP 4: Place your center letter stamp where you want it to be, hold tightly, and tap on the top with the hammer. It takes practice to see how hard and how many times you need to hit it to get a good impression. Too light means it doesn't show up well, or only part of the letter stamps, while too hard can bend your blank or show part of the square from the stamp.

STEP 4: Begin stamping other letters, working backwards and then forward from your center.

I find that stamping around the circle is helpful because I'm not stellar at getting everything lined up totally straight and perfectly spaced yet...hehe... It's a good trick for making you look more skilled than you are!

STEP 5: Use your Sharpie to color over the letters a few at a time...

freaky, but I promise it comes off!

STEP 6: Use a tissue or a polishing cloth to remove the excess Sharpie. What's on the surface will wipe away, and what's down in the letter grooves will stay, coloring the letters black.

There's also an oxidizing process you can do to achieve the same effect, but this is much quicker and easier and doesn't freak me out with chemicals!

See, all better! It's a little tricky to see the difference in the photos, but the black letters really do show up and make it a whole lot more readable than if you don't color them. If you prefer just the silver on silver, though, that's cool too!

At this point, your stamping is done, but if you want to add a little pizazz to your pendant, you can add a bead or two or another charm. Here's how I added my pearl.

Place bead on head pin, bend 90 degrees and trim. Use pliers to form wire loop.

Then, I just opened a jump ring with my pliers and attached it to the pearl and to the pendant.

All that's left is to polish it up and add a chain. TA-DA!

Now I have a wearable reminder of my resolution.

Whaddya think? Ready to make your own? If you do, I'd love to see!

...and, It's GIVEAWAY TIME!I also want to offer you the opportunity to win one of these necklaces, personalized with your own word of the year {or a name or word that means something to you}.

Rafflecopter will walk you through the entry process.

Good luck, and I hope to see you soon at One Artsy Mama!