Jodi Brownstein from Chicago.
Jodi has been obsessed with making jewelry since she was about 8 years old. One of her first designs was a barrette made of gum wrappers, which, believe it or not, was actually good enough to be sold at a local boutique! In this project, Jodi shares the process for a stamped-silver ID bracelet--a great way to customize a piece of jewelry.
Materials:
24-gauge sheet sterling
12-gauge sterling square wire
12-gauge sterling wire round
7mm OD jump rings
toggle or clasp
2pr flat nose pliers
rawhide mallet
metal alphabet stamps
hammer
torch
pickle
copper tongs
tweezers
hard, medium, soft solder
flux
safety glasses
mandrel or dowel
bracelet mandrel
jeweler's saw and blades
triangle file
Steps:
1. Coil annealed 12-gauge sterling wire around your mandrel (secure in vise) approximately 10 times (or as many rings as you need). Saw through coil.
2. With two pliers, move ends so they are flush together, solder and pickle. Do whatever you wish to these rings: hammer, stamp, etc., so they look as you desire.
3. To start ID plate: Measure size you want of square wire. File out a "V" shape where you want to bend to form an "L" shape. Make two of these that fit together to form rectangle.
4. Solder corners, and then solder two L’s together to form a rectangle frame.
5. Cut out piece of 24-gauge sterling a little larger than your rectangle. Mark where you want your letters. Stamp your word on the sterling by lining up stamp and striking stamp one time firmly with a hammer. Start in the middle and work out to make sure the word fits and is evenly spaced.
6. Solder frame onto flat sheet that is stamped. Trim, file, sand and embellish.
7. Make two U-shaped bails for the ends of the plate to hold the chain. (The artist cuts a large jump ring in half.) Solder to long ends or plate. Pickle and rinse.
8. Form plate around bracelet mandrel to give it a slight curve so it sits on the wrist comfortably.
9. Attach your rings, ID plate and clasp together with jump rings to form the bracelet.
10. Solder jump rings, pickle and rinse.
11. Drop clean bracelet in hot liver of sulfur bath until it turns black. Rinse, polish, clean and wear.
Website: www.jodiraedesigns.com
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