How to Make Embossed Copper Jewelry
One of the ways to enjoy the ageless beauty of copper is to make jewelry items from copper foil. Copper charms and pendants may be personalized for individual styles with a rubber stamp embossing technique. Making embossed copper jewelry is a simple craft project that anyone can do with the right tools and materials. Look for copper foil rolls in craft stores along with jewelry making tools and supplies.
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Things You'll Need
- Newspapers
- Copper foil
- Weighty objects
- Measuring tape
- Stylus
- Template
- Tape
- Household shears
- Copper tape
- Awl
- Jump ring
- Round nose pliers
- Chain link bracelet
Instructions
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1
Set up a work station with a small stack of newspapers or magazines as padding beneath the copper foil. The padding will allow the copper foil to indent when you create designs with the stylus.
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2
Place a section of copper foil on top of the papers. Brace the copper at the corners with weighty objects if necessary.
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3
Measure sections of copper foil to the size of the charms or pendants that you plan to make for the jewelry. Outline the dimensions for the pieces in the copper with a stylus. A dry ball point pen or a knitting needle work as well to create lines in copper foil as a commercially available stylus tool. When you press down on the copper foil with the stylus, the foil will indent slightly. The more pressure you apply, the deeper the indentation. Outline sections for each charm or pendant you plan to make.
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4
Tape a pattern that you would like to emboss on top of the copper foil. Making charms and pendants means that you are creating small objects that will fit comfortably on jewelry. You can reduce an image with most any household printer, or take the designs to a copy store for reductions.
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5
Trace the outlines of the design onto the foil. Carefully run the stylus over the lines on the paper while pressing into the foil. Remove the template. The designs facing you are engraved, or indented. The back of the foil is embossed.
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6
Cut the embossed charms from the copper foil with sharp household shears. Follow along the stylus outlines you created in Step 3 as you cut.
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7
Wrap a strip of copper tape around the perimeter of the charms or pendant. Center the tape on the edge and fold it over to cover the sharp edges of the cut copper foil.
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8
Puncture a hole in the top of the charms or pendant with an awl. Open a jump ring with round nose pliers. Insert the jump ring through the hole. Insert the open end of the jump ring through a link on a chain link bracelet. Close the jump ring.
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