Stamped Metal Jewelry: Creative Techniques and Designs for Making Custom Jewelry

by Lisa Niven Kelly

Metal stamping is one of the hottest trends in metal jewelry. Using purchased metal stamps and sterling silver blanks, you can personalize your metal jewelry designs with words, textures, and creative designs. Lisa Niven Kelly, creator of the online Beaducation workshops and website, specializes in the technique and has been teaching stamping for more than six years to enthusiastic students. Although stamping is a simple technique, the right tools and skills will help you create professional and exciting results.

Stamped Metal Jewelry teaches multiple metal stamping and texturing techniques, and the projects incorporate wirework and metalsmithing to create fabulous necklaces, beads, charms, bracelets, cuffs, and earrings. The book opens with an extensive section on stamping, wirework, and metalsmithing tools and techniques. With these skills, you can begin the inspiring jewelry designs with confidence.

Nineteen projects cover a variety of techniques and designs such as creating charms, incorporating stamped links into beaded projects, making stamped links from flat wire and wire-wrapping them together, stamping on blanks and layering them, riveting, texturing metal, oxidizing, and more. In addition to Lisa's projects, the book features contributions by nationally known guest artists Tracy Stanley, Kriss Silva, Lisa Claxton, Kate Richbourg, Janice Berkebile, and Connie Fox.

Genres: Crafts, Jewellery, Nonfiction, Jewellery Making, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2010

Reviews

[Marie Z Johansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most recent interest has been metal. I love embossing metal foil and, I suppose, stamping metal was a logical progression. I want to learn some wire wrapping techniques (thanks to a necklace that I fell in love with on a jaunt to Roslyn, Washington last Fall). I am fighting to restrain myself from becoming enamored with jewelry making, but I wanted a book that would teach me a bit about the ins and outs of stamping metal to use in my mixed media work. I happened upon the most excellent website called Beaducation. Lisa Niven Kelly is the owner of the site and I found that she had recently published this little treasure of a book called "Stamped Metal Jewelry". You know I had to have it!

This book is exactly what I needed. It comes completed with a nifty instructional DVD. The book covers all of the basics about tools, gauges of metal and metal wire, dapping, riveting, applying patinas, hole punching and drilling, oxidizing, annealing and polishing metals. That's just the beginning! The projects in the book follow a logical progression - an easy introduction to the basics and then moving on to more involved concepts. The book is very well illustrated with clear, concise photographs and written instruction that follows along with the photos. I dislike books that have photo instruction separated from the written instructions - making you flip back and forth to correlate the written instructions with the photographs. This book is really well done in that area. The projects are not only instructive but they are also things that you will enjoy making and wearing. The author does suggest that your first attempts at stamping be done on less expensive metals like copper before moving on to precious metal work. That is good advice because there is, most definitely, a bit of "stamping" curve to learn - since things like pressure, tilt (no!) and hammer weight can all affect the quality of your finished impression.

This is one of those ah-ha! kind of books that would be a really good addition to the library of any artistically minded person - because who knows where this path could lead you! I love this book - and Lisa's website is one of the best I have ever been on. No matter what your artistic medium is you should do yourself a favor and check it out !

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have wanted a copy of Stamped Metal Jewelry by Lisa Niven Kelly since it first came out in 2010. At the Bead&Button Show, we had the extreme pleasure of being kitty corner from Beaducation. Fortunately and unfortunately, this meant that I had to walk by each and every time I took a break. Fortunate because I love them. Unfortunate because I could spend a pretty penny in their booth. I broke down on the last day of the show and bought this book as well as some other stamping supplies. The book is full of inspiring design ideas for making your own custom jewelry. She covers a range of techniques, such as: hammering, texturing, cutting, sawing, hole punching, dapping, riveting, oxidizing, polishing, annealing and stamping. Fun!

From the back cover, "Using metal stamps and sterling silver blanks, your jewelry can be personalized with words, textures, and creative designs."

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Metal Stamping for Beginners to Intermediate

I enjoyed the introductory steps and procedure reviews for metal stamping. I also found the more advanced inspirational projects using riveting and cutting very helpful. Looking forward to expanding my metal jewelry making designs.

[Janine P · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a good teaching book for stamping jewelry!!

[Koen Crolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few weeks ago I picked up a metal-stamping kit, so I suppose it was inevitable I'd end up reading this book. I'm disappointed, though: there's nothing here someone who's even heard of metal-stamping won't already know in terms of techniques, and though the design ideas do serve to demonstrate those techniques, most of them—well, if you saw them on Etsy (and let's be honest here: you're going to try to sell your crap on Etsy at some point), you wouldn't exactly stop scrolling.
I wouldn't call this a bad book, I guess, but for the money, you're much better off just watching a few tutorial videos on Youtube for free and, since at least one of them will be Niven Kelly's, showing your gratitude by buying some overpriced supplies on her website. (I'm told their stamps are good; I own some, but I haven't had a chance to compare them yet.)

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful little book that I found at the library. The DVD was snatched from the back, so I don't know if it was any good. Most of these tips can be found on YouTube (by the author) but it's a nice reference material.

[Ligaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've done jewelry but not a lot of stamping on metal and I found this book to be a good review of techniques but not a lot of ideas that I hadn't already seen. Well organized with a decent amount of photos, this is a fine book for beginners.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

great ideas, techniques!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

great ideas, great descriptions

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book, clear instructions. Lovely photography making it a great source of inspiration.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not into jewelry, but I do like metal stamping and loved all the great pics.