Stamped jewelry.
Have you seen jewelry that has all these lovely stamped words on them and wondered how the artist did it? Want to know the secret?
Punch stamps. And yes, you can buy them on eBay (our favorite supply store, much as we are loathe to admit it).
We are including a photo of our stamps that we use to label the jewelry we make with the gold karat (22k, 18k, & 14k), but stamps are available with everything under the sun.
Stamps are simple to use: put them in place and smack the end with a hammer (or shoe or rock or something heavy along those lines).
The cool thing these days is that in addition to the alphabet, punch stamps also are available with shapes, logos and just about anything else you can imagine. Of course, you have to pay for the privilege of having something different, but don’t we always?
We have seen these used to make bangles and charms and necklaces and earrings and of course, people that scrapbook are probably already very familiar with their use.
A word of caution, the stamps are made of metal and will usually come to you packaged in a small plastic box. When you open them, they are like any other tool, meaning that they will be coated with a layer of oil to keep them safe. Messy messy messy for our use. Keep a towel around if you use them.
If you are squeamish about the oil and wash it off, it is like washing the oil off the tools in the garage. You are washing off the protection of the tool, so watch for rust issues and such (but considering that we doubt you’ll be keeping the punch stamps submerged in water, this probably won’t be an issue).
Once you get your hands on these stamps, you’ll find you start making more and more with them, including garden projects, Christmas gift tags and ornaments, kitchen gifts and more. They are a wonderful item to keep in your crafts armoire!
