Stamped Butterfly Necklace
So you may have seen last week that I got into setting eyelets. And yeah, I am hooked. I thought it would be a great addition to this necklace idea that I have had in mind for a little while. I wanted a wide charm, but attaching the chain directly the blank doesn’t allow it to move well when you wear it. Threading it through jump rings lets it lay perfectly. So I took a moment to stamp up a butterfly blank (the stamping is optional, this would still be a pretty piece without any stamping!) and I’ve gotten several compliments on this piece. It’s small… almost dainty. It’s definitely in the “minimalist” category. But I’m going to show you today how to finish even basic pieces more professionally by adding contrasting (or coordinating – it’s up to you) eyelets.
First of all, please don’t judge that my stamping isn’t precisely spaced, haha. I can tell every time I take a break from stamping that I get a little rusty! You will probably notice the same thing if you’re just getting into stamping. I haven’t done it for a couple of months, and I’ve lost my touch a little. The only thing for it is more practice. Darn… ;)
I got the supplies for today’s project from Goody Beads, which is one of my favorite sources for my metal stamping projects. Because these are specialty supplies, I’m going to leave links below to the exact products I used. They are affiliate links, which means that if you decide to make a purchase, it does support my blog at no cost to you. (Relationships like this keep me in supplies to keep bringing you new project ideas – but feel free to shop your own favorite sources, instead.) ;) Anway, if you’re going to get started in metal stamping, Goody Beads has a dedicated category to stamping essentials for beginners. It’s actually a list that I hand-picked. You can also learn more at my jewelry stamping for beginners post from a few years back. I’m not going to get into how to stamp today, but I really do have lots of projects on the topic that you’re welcome to check out, including a video tutorial.
- Metal stamping supplies (optio-al)
- Wide blank (think hearts, rectangles, feathers, angel wings, butterflies, etc)
- Bench block and hammer
- Eyelet Setting Tool
- 3.7mm eyelets – I used a copper finish here, but you can choose any color you like
- Small 2-hole punch for a 3/32? hole
- 18″ chain (get something around 2mm)
As you can see, I did stamp my blank. I’m a stamper, I can’t help it! ;)
Next, I punched holes in the top corners of my blank. Rivet setting is actually really easy. I love this Tierracast set, all you have to do is place a rivet into the groove on the setting base (do this on your bench block or another hard surface – you don’t want to do it on your table or anything, because you’ll end up marring the surface). Add your blank onto the base with the rivet coming through (it can be face up or face down, I tried both ways and they look equally good). Then, place the groove of the setting tool into the rivet hole, and tap the end with your hammer until it’s flat. For me that was 6-8 taps with my hammer.
So now you have lovely finished holes. So all you need to to is add a jump ring to each, and string your chain through! You can make your own chain if you want, or use a pre-made one, but 18″ is a nice short length. For larger blanks, you can get away with longer chains. :)
That’s it! If you’re pretty well-versed in stamping, or if you’re skipping that part, you can definitely make this is under 10 minutes. If you need stamping practice, allow a little longer. It took me longer to get my supplies out than it did to make this!
I hope you enjoyed this idea! It’s something you can personalize any way you like!
