Stamped Washer Bracelets

Tonight, with the young women at my church, we made stamped washer bracelets. The girls had a good time with them, and their bracelets turned out really cute.

If you want to make your own, you'll need to gather a few supplies:
 • hammer
 • needle-nosed pliers
 • anvil (or you can go outside on the sidewalk)
 • metal stamps (1/4 inch)
 • washers (we used 2 different sizes--more on that later)
 • braiding cord and/or suede lace
 • cord clasps
 • beads or charms (optional)

I started out by going to the hardware store for some washers. I didn't pay much attention to the sizes, I just picked out some I liked. Washers are measured by the diameter of the hole in the middle. My washers are 1/2 inch and 3/8 inch.

On my big washer, I stamped my name. For this step, you'll need a hammer, metal stamps, and an anvil or sidewalk. Don't attempt to stamp your washers on a table, counter, or other surface. Lay your washer on the anvil or sidewalk, and proceed to stamp whatever combination of letters and/or numbers you like.

In the above picture, my name is a little shaky. That's because I've never used metal stamps before, so this was a case of trial and error. For my name, I made a series of taps with the hammer. Obviously, that wasn't wise.

For the small washer, I decided to stamp decorative lines. I used the capital letter "i" in my stamp set. The best way to make clear indents is to give each stamp one good, hard whack with a heavy hammer. My hammer was lightweight and girly, so I gave it 3 good whacks while holding the stamp steady. It worked much better than the sissy taps I tried on the large washer.

All the girls at church put the year they will graduate on the small washer. If you'd like to put something else significant to you, feel free. You could also leave this washer plain, if that is your preference.

To string the washers together, you will need braiding cord and/or suede lace. I found these in the craft section at Walmart. I'm sure somewhere like Hobby Lobby would have more selection, however. Measure your wrist (accounting for excess length due to the clasp), and cut your cord/lace accordingly. You'll want at least 3 or 4 strings of cord or lace. On my bracelet above, I used one strand of suede lace and two strands of braiding cord.

Lay your washers side-by-side, stamped side up. Separate your cord/lace into 2 groups. For the first group, I'll be using brown suede lace. You'll want the lace to go over and under the washers as shown in this picture:

My second group consisted of 2 strands of pink braiding cord. You'll want to string them the opposite as the first group, like this:

If you string your washers on your cord/lace like this, they will lay flat against your wrist.

If you would like any bead or charms on your bracelet, add them now. I didn't add any to mine, but I'm a simple girl.

Next, get out your cord clasps. Mine came in a package like this:

Again, I found these at Walmart. For my cord clasps, I fed the ends of my cord and lace into a small metal closure. I then used needle-nosed pliers to pinch the closure shut, trapping my lace and cords. These closures are attached to clasps, which I use to get my bracelet on and off.

After you pinch those shut, your bracelet is finished! Pat yourself on the back for making a piece of custom jewelry.

Here are some the girls made:

Enjoy!