DIY Charm Necklace {by One Artsy Mama}

Hi there, friends and followers of 52 Mantels!  I'm Amy, aka One Artsy Mama, and I am just thrilled to be here today to share a project with you!  Thank you so much to Emily for inviting me, and for trading blogs with me for the day {be sure to stop by my place to see what she has to share}!

As for me, I'm married to my best friend, mama to my 4 year old "Little Crafter," addicted to Starbucks, and happiest when I'm creating something.  On my blog you'll find a variety of projects; everything from kids' crafts to home decor to holiday ideas and jewelry.  Today, I wanted to combine those last two things into a special project you can make for someone you love this Valentine's Day.

I'm super sentimental, so the idea of family jewelry has always appealed to me, but when my son was born and I went searching for some, I was disappointed by what I found.  I'm not a huge gemstone person, and my style is more chunky/modern/chic than most of what you find in the jewelry store.  In fact, my husband once bought me one of those pretty diamond "Journey" necklaces and I think I've worn it twice. But once my friend taught me the basics of jewelry making, I realized that it's pretty simple to make something meaningful that fits your personal style...whatever it might be!

Here's how I made this charm necklace.

Materials:
- large purple shell bead {bought as part of a strand at Michaels}
- small white pearl bead
- blank copper stamping discs {from Walmart, 60 in a pack}
- copper chain
- eye pins, jump rings, and lobster clasp
- round needlenose pliers, flat pliers, wire cutters
- stamping block
- hammer
- metal lowercase alphabet stamps
- blue painters tape

Here are the copper discs I used.  The label makes me laugh.  Glass Beads.  Really?  Um...

But you can't beat the price!

Step 1: Stamp names onto copper discs.
A lot of people are intimidated by metal stamping, but it's really quite simple.  All you do is tape your blank to the steel block so it won't move.  Choose the stamps you want to use.  One at a time, place them on the block, hold firmly with one hand and hammer the top {just one or two taps} with a good amount of force.
I always start with the center letter{s} and then work my way out to the sides to keep my words properly centered and spaced.  The painters' tape also provides a guide to keep your letters straight.

When finished, you should have something like this...

Step 2: Open a large jump ring and thread your discs onto it.  Close the jump ring with your pliers. Always remember to open and close rings by twisting, NOT pulling apart!

Step 3: Place your shell bead and your pearl onto head pins and form wire loops at the top.  Attach to jump rings.

For a full, step-by-step video tutorial on this basic technique, see here.

Step 4: Thread your bead, your pearl, and your discs onto an 18" piece of chain.  

Step 5: For an extra personal touch, I added a disc with our wedding year and my son's birth year onto the ring of the lobster clasp.  You can see just a tiny bit of the blue painters' tape still on there...oopsie!  Better scrape that off!

That's all there is to it!  A personal piece of "family jewelry" that can be totally customized to fit your style or the style of your recipient.  You can use whatever combination of beads/pearls, etc. you want, as well as in any sizes you like.

Thanks so much to Emily for having me here, and to you, sweet readers, for following along with my tutorial today.  I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll stop by and say hello sometime.  After all, the best part of blogging is making new friends!  

Hugs & Glitter,

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