Camp Craft: Stamped Metal

A while back I purchased a set of metal stamps from Pick Your Plum. {Are you a registered Plumster? You really should be!}  The Second Annual Family Camp-Out finally gave me an opportunity to use my metal stamps.

The first craft at this years camp-out was to stamp metal and make necklaces. We made Wood Chip Necklaces and they were a big hit. I hoped the campers would enjoy metal stamping just as much. These necklaces were pretty easy to make; even the youngest children had fun making them.

We started off with a washer. I bought an entire package of them for less than $4.00 that had enough washers in it for the entire group.

The first step is taking a hammer and your metal stamps and "stamping" your word onto the metal by hammering the stamp. It only took about three/four strikes to do the job. I found if you hammered more then the stamp went through to the other side. Alignment and spelling are your two biggest obstacles at this point!

At the campground we found a small slab of concrete to use. You really do want your washer on a solid surface. 

When you are finished stamping, your washer should look like this:

After this, you should take a black Sharpie and color over the letters you have just stamped.  As soon as they are all blacked out you will want to quickly wipe off the Sharpie using a baby wipe. 

The black on the washer will come off but the ink that got down in the letters will stay; adding definition to your stamped word. 

The last few steps are some personal preferences. I used leftover ribbon but you also can use plastic or leather cord to make a necklace. We even added some beads to the ribbon to jazz it up a bit. 

We were so happy to be out of our campers and while it might have been soggy, it was no longer raining.  Everyone at camp had a great time making their necklaces.

What do you think? Do they look like happy girls?