Teapot Charm Bangle Bracelet

Friends, as many of you already know, One Artsy Mama is {hopefully} going mobile by creating a special app you can download on your phones and tablets.  But, before we can create it, we need to raise a little bit of money via a Kickstarter campaign to help us get started. There are various rewards you can get for pledging a donation, one of which is a piece of hand-stamped jewelry.  One of our community members, Kat, earned herself a piece of jewelry for her generous pledge, and I thought I’d share with you what I made for her!

Teapot Charm Bangle Bracelet

Kat loves bracelets, particularly in the Alex and Ani style, and she works in a local tea bar, so I wanted to create something that reflected both her style and her love of tea.  I also worked in her favorite color combination, teal and orange.  In the supply list below, I’ve linked to some of the exact products I used in case you want to grab them for your own project.  Some of these are affiliate links, so any purchases you make after clicking will help to support this blog and allow me to keep making fun jewelry to inspire you!

Materials:
– Teapot and Cup Charm
– Jump Rings
– 6 mm or 8 mm beads in assorted colors
Made With Love Charm
Expandable Silver Finish Wire Bracelet
OR
14 Gauge Silver Plated Wire
6 mm Antique Silver Sand Metal Bead
– Needle nose pliers and wire cutters
Nylon Jaw Bracelet Bending pliers
– Super Glue or Jewelry Glue

Optional:
– 1/2″ Circle Stamping Blank
– ImpressArt 3mm lowercase Juniper Alphabet Stamp Set
– Metal Stamping Hammer
– Steel Stamping Block
– Black permanent marker
– Jewelry Polishing Cloth

I know that looks at first glance like a lot of supplies, but honestly once you buy the basics like the pliers, cutters, and metal stamping tools, you’ll have them to use forever.  Then, a project like this will cost very little and take very few materials because you already have most of what you need.  In fact, the only thing I bought for this bracelet was the teapot charm; everything else was already in my stash.

Teapot Charm Bangle Bracelet

Step 1: Create the wire bracelet form.  You can make this very VERY simple buy purchasing an expandable bracelet to begin with.  Then, you can move right on to step 2.  I, however, did not have any of these in my stash and was too impatient to wait for one to arrive, so I made my own.  To create it, I took an 8 1/2″ piece of 14 gauge wire and bent it into a circle using my Nylon Jaw Bracelet Bending Pliers.  Then, I used pliers to bend one end down at a 90 degree angle and loop it back up.  To finish it off, I glued a silver bead {you can also use a round end cap} onto the other end, but don’t do that yet!  If you do, you won’t be able to add your beads!

teaback

Step 2: Attach a “Made with Love” charm to a jump ring and place it on the wire between the loop and the end of the wire.
This is optional, of course, but gives the bracelet a nice handmade touch.  Placing the charm in this spot keeps it secured in the back and won’t allow it to slide around and mix in with the other charms and beads.

Step 3: Stamp your words on a 1/2″ circle blank, color them in with a black permanent marker, and wipe off the excess with a polishing cloth.  There isn’t much room, so I went with a very short phrase, “got tea”?  You could also use initials, a name, or whatever you like.  If you’ve never done metal stamping before, it’s honestly easier than you think.  Check out my Beginner Stamping Tutorial for step by step photos and instructions for this part, then come back and pick up here with Step 4 when you’re done. Your other option, of course, is to use a pre-stamped charm.

Teapot Charm Bangle Bracelet

Step 4: Attach jump rings to your charms.  Thread them onto your wire along with any beads you’re using.  I stuck with one orange bead in the center and a teal bead on either side of the charms.  You can use as many or as few as you want, or even bead the whole thing if that’s more your style.

Step 5: Now you can glue the bead onto the other end of your wire.  All finished!

Teapot Charm Bangle Bracelet

What do you think?  I sure hope Kat loves it!  Mine, of course, would have to have a coffee cup instead!  What would your charm bracelet hold?

honestlyheart2

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