DIY Initial Bracelet
This DIY initial bracelet is a fun and easy craft that's perfect for all skill levels. Teens and adults will love using simple jewelry-making techniques to create this pretty bracelet.
Yield: 1 DIY initial bracelet
Cost: $5
Equipment
- Heart shaped cookie cutter (1-1/2 cm)
- Clay needle tool (or toothpick)
- Plastic letter stamps (1/4 inch)
- Toothpick (optional; to hold bead while painting)
Materials
- Polymer clay
- Acrylic paint
- Eye head pins (4 x 1 inch, 1 x 2 inch)
- Round beads (4mm)
- Jump rings (7 x 2.5mm, 1 x 3.5mm)
- Lobster clasp (small)
- Jewelry chain (2mm)
Instructions
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Make the clay charm
- Choose a colour of clay that matches the paint colour you'd like your bracelet to be. (We chose gold.)Condition the clay and form it into a ball.
- Roll the clay until it's about 1/4 inch thick.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap over the clay and press a small cookie cutter or clay cutter down into the clay. We used a heart shape, but you can use any shape you like.
- Remove the plastic wrap and excess clay.
- Use a needle tool or toothpick to make a horizontal hole going through the heart.
- Select a letter stamp for the initial you want on the bead.
- Press the letter stamp into the center of the clay heart.
- Bake the clay heart according to package instructions.Our clay recommends 275F for 15 minutes per 1/4 inch thickness.
- Once cool, paint the baked clay heart with metallic paint. Allow to dry.
Step 3: Add beads to eye pins
- Add a 4mm bead to a 1 inch eye pin. There should be about 1cm above the bead. Trim the wire if it's longer.
- Use needle nose or jewelry pliers to twist the end of the wire down into a loop.
- Repeat for the remaining 3 beads (we used 2 yellow and 2 clear).
- Once the paint is dry, add a 2 inch eye pin through the clay heart. Cut the end so that there's about 1cm extra past the heart.
- Use pliers to close off the end in a loop, just like you did with the beads.
Step 4: Attach jump rings
- Open a 2.5mm jump ring and attach it to the loop on one side of the heart.
- Attach a yellow bead loop to the same jump ring.
- Use 2 sets of pliers to close the jump ring.
- Attach another jump ring to the other side of the yellow bead and then add the clear bead to the jump ring.
- Repeat, adding the jump rings and beads to the opposite side of the heart.
Step 5: Attach the chain
- Cut a piece of stainless steel jewelry chain to be about 4-1/2 inches long.This will make a bracelet about 8-1/2 inches long. Cut a shorter or longer chain based on the bracelet size you need (read more about this below).
- Fold the chain in half and use wire cutters to cut through the center link. Then remove it with pliers, just like you would a jump ring.
- Attach a jump ring to one end of the chain and connect it to an outside (clear) bead.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
- Attach the last 2.5mm jump ring to one end of the chain. Then connect a lobster clasp.
- Finally, attach a 3.5mm jump ring to the chain on the opposite side.
- Your DIY initial bracelet is complete!
- Now have fun making customized jewelry for each special person in your life!
Video
Notes
Looking for more DIY bracelet crafts? Here's a few of our favourites:
DIY Flower Bracelet
How to Make Hemp Bracelets
Macrame Bracelet