Materials Needed:
- 1 Penny
- 6mm Jump Ring
- Chain or cord
- Black Permanent Marker
Tools Needed:
- 2mm Steel Letter Stamps
- Hammer
- 3" x 3" Steel block
- Drill or 2-Hole Punch
- Jewelry Pliers
- Small Power Drill or Polishing Cloth
May 23rd is Lucky Penny Day!
Here's how to always have your lucky penny with you!
Directions:
CLEAN the Penny
Cleaning Solution—The easiest method I’ve found is one I use to clean my copper teakettle. In a small glass or ceramic cup (do not use a metal vessel), dissolve ½ tsp. table salt in ¼ cup vinegar. Add pennies. It only takes a few minutes, just dip and done! Rinse thoroughly in clean water and dry.
STAMP—The most difficult part is getting the letters straight and evenly spaced. One suggestion: Don't be too picky. Second suggestion: Be patient! Third: Be prepared to practice or ditch a few mess-ups. It's only a penny! When letter stamping, begin with the middle letter and work your way out. In our case, place the letter stamp "C" in the center of the penny. Hammer the stamp firmly. One strike is best, a double-strike may blur your lettering. Be decisive, be bold, strike with certainty! Go to the next letter, alternate sides until you finish getting LUCKY.
2mm Steel Stamp Set—These hardened high-carbon steel stamps are designed to withstand thousands of hammer strikes. Use with ball pen hammer on steel block.
DRILL penny—Because this is going to be a pendant, drill one hole in the top of the coin.
POLISH—For this project, I used a rotary drill with a felt polishing tip and some jewelry rouge, but you can simply use a polishing cloth.
CREATE PENDANT—Use a fine-tip permanent black marker to color in the letters and make them more visible.
Open a sterling silver 6mm Jump Ring with both pliers and attach the stamped penny. Thread a chain and you've got a personalized keepsake. I like the look of copper and sterling together. Feel free to use whatever you like.
They’re also really cool as a key ring charm!
Find some pennies, pick them up…
And all day long, you'll stamp good luck...!
Get more great crafts from Tamara Berg at her website
www.tamaracentral.com! And, Tamara's new book,"A Penny Saved," is available now on
iTunes!
