I bow down to the metal stampers...

One of the reasons I like to create is because I can often create something I want cheaper than I can buy pre-made. Not to mention the self-satisfaction when I've made something with my own two hands and it turns out looking great.

I thought I'd save myself some moo-la for gift giving by stamping some sterling silver necklaces instead of buying them. Sounds like a brilliant idea, yes? Um...no. It's hard! MUCH harder than it looks! Letters all wibbly wonky, some stamped deeper than others...seriously difficult!

You can't seem me but I'm rolling on the floor laughing at myself on this one. My experience humbled me right down to bowing at the feet of those that stamp metal and create jewelry to sell.

I'll sum it up by saying I lost a bunch of money on this adventure due to ruining silver disk after silver disk with my efforts (yes, I DID practice first on sheet metal). I returned what I didn't ruin, threw my hands up in frustration at myself, and turned to my trusty ol' computer to put in an online order from the professionals who actually know what they are doing. Again, bowing down to you...

That being said, while I didn't manage to make any disks with actual words on them like I originally planned, I did come out of the project with two initial necklaces made that were decent enough to give as gifts.

These are my parts and pieces...

Finished necklace for my best friend with the initials of her three kids...

One for my sister with her first name initial...

While they didn't turn out just as I wanted, I do like the simplicity of the pieces. They also offer the option for adding charms later on as desired. So, I guess all wasn't lost on this one after all!