Etched Metal-Stamped Monogram Necklace

This post contains affiliate links.  Thanks for supporting Pitter & Glink! Hey, y'all!  You probably know I'm from the South by now.  (I mean, the "y'all" at the beginning of every post should have given it away, am I right?) In the South, we have lots of loves: sunshine, fishing, sweet tea, country music, and, of course, monograms!  I don't know why we love monograms so much.  I mean, it's not like there's a flurry of people trying to steal our stuff and if it's monogrammed we can put that in the police report to get our goods back faster.  I guess for us monograms are synonymous with times in the past when people had good manners and Southern bells wouldn't be caught dead without their pearls.  This innate love of monograms makes me want to monogram pretty much everything, and when I have an occasion to create a gift to give someone, one of the first things I think of is a monogrammed gift.  When Mother's Day rolled around, I wanted to make my momma a unique gift, so since I love to give handmade jewelry as gifts, it's no surprise I decided to make her a monogrammed necklace: an Etched Metal Monogrammed Necklace.  I'm going to show you how to make your own.  Whether you're from the South or North, a necklace like this is sure to be a unique piece to add to your jewelry collection.

You can make your own Etched Metal Monogrammed Necklace using some basic metal stamping tools and skills, along with your Sizzix BIGkick machine and Vintaj blanks and dies.  

Since there are two different metal components to the necklace pendant that use two different techniques, I'm going to look at this as a two part tutorial.  Part one is making the metal stamped monogram charm.  To create this part of the necklace, you'll need the following basic metal stamping supplies:

• Metal Blank
• Tape
• Letter Stamps (I used two different sets: uppercase and lowercase.)
• Brass Hammer
• Bench Block
• Metal Punch
• Sharpie
• Polishing Pad

The first step to the monogrammed blank is stamping the monogram.  Adhere a metal blank onto the bench block using tape.  You can use a ruler and pen or marker to make evenly spaced marks on your tape to guide your letter placement.  Then stamp each letter.  I used an uppercase letter stamp for the last name initial and lowercase letter stamps for the first and middle initials.

Next, color over the stamped letters with a black Sharpie and use a polishing pad to remove the excess marker and shine up your blank.  Use a metal punch to punch a hole at the top of the blank to complete part one of the pendant-making process.

Below are the supplies you'll need to create part two of the necklace.  Please note that the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase anything via one of the links, you're helping to support my blog at no extra cost to you.  (Thanks so much!)

• Sizzix Big Kick Machine
• Standard Cutting Pads
• Solo Platform & Shim
• Vintaj Square Blank
• Vintaj DecoEtch Baroque Filigree Die
• Vintaj Metal Reliefing Block
• Vintaj Brass Chain
• Vintaj Lobster Clasp Set
• Vintaj Patina
• Jump Rings

First, make a Sizzix sandwich by placing your Vintaj blank on top of the Vintaj DecoEtch die and placing that between two Standard Size Cutting Pads.  Place the sandwich on your Solo Platform & Shim and roll the sandwich through your BIGkick.

When your blank comes out the other side, it'll have a beautiful etched design.

To add more interest to the etched blank, you can paint it with one (or a combination) of Vintaj's Patinas.  I used a combination of Lapis, Emerald and Topaz and then I made the design pop again by removing some of the Patina with the Vintaj Metal Reliefing Block. And that ends part two of creating the pendant.

Then it's time to put it all together.  Select a pretty Vintaj chain, Vintaj lobster clasp, and three jump rings, as well as your wire cutters and jewelry-making pliers, to combine all the pieces.

Open the larger jump ring and thread the monogrammed blank and the etched blank onto the jump ring.  Close the jump ring.

Thread the pendant onto the chain.  Use a jump ring to attach a lobster clasp to one end of the chain and attach just a jump ring to the other end of the chain.  Then your necklace is complete!

This piece is definitely unique with the blue-green patina and the combination of the hand-stamped and etched metals.

My momma loved this handmade gift, and I'm beginning to think I might just have to make one for myself.

As a 2015 Sizzix Design team member, I receive certain Sizzix products free of charge in order to share tutorials and project inspiration.  My designs and opinions are all my own.