Personalized Jewelry

In a world where mass-produced jewelry and accessories dominate, the value of customization has never been higher. Today's consumers seek to express their individuality and stand out from the crowd. As a knowledgeable jewelry maker, you can empower your clients to express their true selves in their own unique way.


Personalized detailing has emerged as a significant influence in jewelry design, with the timeless monogram leading the way. The popularity of name pendants has also soared, particularly as names become increasingly diverse in spelling. While you may find a pendant with the name "Alice" at a local store, discovering the Welsh version, "Alys," can prove more challenging. Your customers with uncommon name spellings will be thrilled to know that they too can partake in the personalization trend.


Don't limit yourself to just monograms and names. Explore a wide range of creative possibilities, such as morse code, acrostic, and fingerprint jewelry, among others. Let your imagination run wild as you discover innovative ways to capture the essence of personalization in your designs. Your clients will be delighted to wear pieces that truly reflect their individuality.


Create one-of-a-kind jewelry that reflects your personal style. Explore the options below to discover how you can personalize your pieces with unique touches. Start crafting your signature look today!


Personalized Jewelry


video

Influenced by the Internet


Stamping a metal disc

Jewelry showing hashtags or online account names is growing in popularity. Create them in metal, leather and more, using a variety of techniques. Form names in a cursive script using wire, or on metal or leather bands with stamping tools.



Personalized for the Family


Design Idea NC22

Birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones are also being marked using personalized jewelry. Mother's rings with a birthstone for each child are one of the earliest examples, and charm bracelets with each child's name aren't far behind. The personalization of gifts for mom and dad has only grown.


Create necklaces for mom with a pendant for each child—each pendant with a child's name or initials and birthstone. For true customization, offer these on the spot in your retail location or craft show booth. For dads, create a tie tac with birthstones or an everyday bracelet. Consider offering the component frames, then filling them with Apoxie® Sculpt, setting with birthstones or Crystal Passions crystal chatons in the proper colors and letting it air-cure.



A Sense of Place


Location jewelry lets consumers express pride in where they're from, where they're going and where they are now. Pendants, earrings, finger rings and belt buckles are all perfect for personalization.

Use zip codes, state names or outlines, longitude and latitude, area codes and national and state flags. These can be created as interchangeable charms, large pendants, stampable drops, wire-worked names and a lot more.


Quotable Quotes


Inspirational quotes, Biblical verses, song lyrics and poetry, even shared jokes, offer customers more ways to create a personalized style that also has deep meaning.


These designs can be created for individuals, for couples, for families or for groups of friends. A couple may want a verse of a reading from their wedding on customized rings. A pair of friends may exchange pendants with the punch line to a joke only the two of them understand. Parents can request bracelets for each child as they head off to college, with an inspirational quote.



Morse Code Jewelry


Morse code bracelets and other jewelry is a growing trend that sends a clear message of style. It doesn't take much to decipher why Morse code jewelry is popular and why you will enjoy creating bracelets, necklaces and pendants with a word or phrase.


Morse code bracelet with the message "Though she be but little she is fierce William Shakespeare"

What is Morse Code?


The history of Morse code begins with the creation of the telegraph, which revolutionized long-distance communication in the 1830s and '40s. Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail—who were part of the team that engineered the telegraph—developed a code for transmitting simple messages across the telegraph. Each letter of the English alphabet is assigned a set of dots or dashes. Originally, the code was sent over as these dots and dashes, but it was quickly realized that people could translate the code faster just by listening to the clicks. So a more pronounced beeping sound was implemented.


The length of a dot is one unit, and a dash consists of three units. Now, how to tell the difference between parts of the same letter and a new letter? The space between parts of the same letter is one unit, while the space between letters is three units. To separate words, the space between each word is seven units.


While Morse code is not used as widely as it once was, it's still highly recognized. Morse code is most used in aviation and aeronautical fields, as well as the US Navy and Coast Guard. Morse code has even been used as an alternative form of communication for people with disabilities. Lately, Morse code has been turning up in a stylish field: jewelry.


Chart of Morse code letters
Chart of Morse code numbers
Design Idea PC26


Why Make Morse Code Jewelry?


Many people who wear jewelry want something with a personal message, a story, something that speaks to them on an individual basis or in relation to someone else. Morse code jewelry provides such a message for customers to wear and gift to those they care about. Morse code jewelry is highly customizable: you pick the message, beads, thread color, etc. Another reason Morse code jewelry is gaining popularity is how easy it is to wear, since the designs are minimalistic (similar to Barely There Jewelry Chain), yet impactful. And lastly, Morse code bracelets (especially) are unisex, making these designs great for men and women.


Making Morse Code Jewelry


Pick Your Message

Morse code jewelry messages can be literally anything you can think of. If it can be spelled, you can make it a jewelry design.Popular Morse Code Jewelry Phrases

  • Familial titles
    • "Sister" or "Brother"
    • "Daughter" or "Son"
    • "Mama" or "Mother" (We've seen mother and daughter matching sets)
    • "Dad" or "Father" (We've seen father and son matching sets)
    • "Grandma"
    • "Godmother"
    • "Aunt" or "Auntie"
    • "Big Sis" and "Little Sis" matching sets
    • "Twin"
    • "Family"
    • Names of children
      • Each name on a headpin dangling as part of a pendant
      • Multi-strand bracelets or necklaces with each strand center as a child's name
      • Seen with bead dangles as an added personal touch
      • Or, use birthstone colors for bead colors to create the names themselves (which is an idea that can be applied to many other Morse code messages as well)
  • Friendship
    • "Friends"
    • "Best Friend"
    • "Soul Sister"
    • "Bestie"
    • "My BFF" or just "BFF"
  • Weddings
    • "Bridesmaid"
    • "Maid of Honor"
    • "Mrs." and "Mr." sets
Pink beads spelling "Survivor"
  • Affirmations
    • "Live Love Laugh"
    • "Survivor" (often seen with an awareness charm included)
    • "Strength" or "Strong"
    • "Brave"
    • "Fearless"
    • "Courage"
    • "Be Bold"
    • "Persevere"
Blue beads spelling "namaste"
    • "Peace"
    • "Namaste" (a lotus charm would coordinate perfectly)
    • "Happiness"
    • "Beautiful"
    • "Shine"
    • "Dream"
    • "Hope"
    • "Imagine"
    • "Believe" or "Believe You Can"
    • "Wish"
Green beads spelling "Luck"
    • "Luck" (horseshoe, clover or other lucky charms are fun to use alongside this word)
    • "Freedom"
    • "Trust"
    • "Faith"
    • "Blessed"
    • Short Bible verses or the book name, chapter and verse number
Red beads spelling "Teacher"

  • Romantic (though some of these can be used platonically as well)
    • "Love"
    • "Always with You"
    • "My Love"
    • "My Person"
    • "Soulmate"
    • "I Love You"
    • "Be Mine"
    • "To the Moon and Back"
    • "XOXO"
    • "Forever"
  • Other
    • "Teacher" (with an apple charm included would be perfect as a gift)
    • "Congrats"
    • "Thanks"
    • Names
    • Zodiac signs
    •  (fun to use beads in birthstone colors with this one as well as star charms)
    • Sorority sisters "Big" and "Little"
    • Fandoms (names of favorite characters, superheroes, catchphrases etc.)

Pick Your Beads and Thread


Now that you know what word, words or phrase you want to use, use the International Morse Code chart to figure out the number of dots and dashes you'll need (and in what order). This will give you an idea of how long the design will be and whether you want to make earrings, a bracelet or necklace. Next, choose which beads you'd like to use. Seed beads and bugle beads work especially well for Morse code jewelry since the seed beads work as dots and bugle beads work as dashes. Of course, any small beads such as micro beads and liquid silver or tiny gemstones, Crystal Passions® crystals, etc. will work fantastically. Feel free to include small additions such as charms or birthstone bead dangles.


Seed and Bugle beads

For stringing material, choose a strong thread, flexible beading wire (such as Accu-Flex®), thin cording such as hemp or even very thin chain. Creating links from eye pins and using chain for the rest of the bracelet or necklace is another option. Leave the stringing material as is to show the color and texture, or thread on a single color of beads to cover the thread and really bring out the colors of the beads used as letters. Braided strands have also been seen to give the bracelet a bit of thickness.


For earrings, beading hoops are a fantastic foundation. Just open, slide on your beads, secure the wire and attach to an earring finding


Another option is to thread your beads onto stringing material and knot or crimp it into a circle. Just be sure to leave a loop at the top to attach to your chosen finding. 


You can leave either style like that or add a corresponding charm or drop to hang inside your hoop.

Tips for Making Morse Code Jewelry


Lay out Morse code messages in a bead board before stringing so everything is in order when you begin. Be sure to double-check that the letters are correctly laid out before stringing, and before tying off your thread or finishing your loop on head pins or eye pins. This is definitely a "measure twice, cut once" type of design! When selling Morse code jewelry, it's usually a good idea to include a tag, necklace card or some other means of spelling out what the message is. Use both the word and Morse code letters in a visual format near each other along with the jewelry, so customers can easily browse the selection of phrases you have. If you're willing to do custom Morse code jewelry, have a few examples near a display of International Morse Code with an indication of "custom" or "your code here."


Morse code jewelry sends a message of appreciation, making it perfect for creating in celebration of national holidays such as Mother's Day, birthdays, special occasions and just because. There's never a wrong time to create a thoughtful handmade jewelry gift for someone special.



Acrostic Jewelry: Spelling with Gemstones


Blame Napoleon.


His empress, Josephine, wanted a unique way to celebrate their courtship and marriage. To that end, her jeweler—the famous Jean-Baptiste Mellerio—created a set of bracelets that spelled out each of their names and the dates of their courtship and marriage. Each letter was spelled using a gemstone ("A" by Amethyst, etc.).


Over the course of the long war against Napoleon's forces, the idea of spelling messages using gemstones crossed the English Channel into London, spreading up and down the British Isles from the Regency period up through the Victorian Age.


In our modern times of public everything, the idea of secret messages in our jewelry is an enticing idea. Acrostic jewelry is making a comeback, with personalizable pieces available from well-known fashion outlets and design houses such as Lulu Frost, Jessica McCormack and Chaumet.


So ... we can blame Napoleon. It'll be our little secret.


The Alphabet of Gemstones


When the French of Napoleon's time spelled out French words in gemstones, they used the French names of the stones as the basis of their words. With the transition to England, there was a shift to using English names of gemstones. These names did not always line up—a complication even more potent today, as old gemstones shed their inaccurate trade names and receive new, more scientifically accurate, labels.


Even then, there are gaps in the standard English alphabet: finding gemstones that start with W, X and Y is difficult (although, "wood" will do for "W" in a pinch). Oddly, Q and U are covered—thank goodness for quartz and Unakite!


Here's our alphabet of gemstones, each usually available on the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads website.



Gemstone Alphabet

Gemstone Options (most common first, alternatives after)

A
Amethyst

Amethyst

Also: agate variants (blue, blue lace, Botswana, crazy lace, fossil, golden lace, golden leaf, green, moss, tree, white), amazonite, amber, ametrine, ammonite, amphibolite, andalusite, angelite, apatite, aquamarine, aragonite, autumn hickoryite, aventurine, azurite-malachite

B
Bloodstone

Bloodstone

Also: beryl, blackstone, black silk stone, bone, bronzite

C
Carnelian or Citrine

Carnelian or Citrine

Also: calcite, chalcedony, charoite, chrysanthemum stone, chrysocolla, chrysoprase, cinnabar, citrine, coral, corundum, Crazy Horse stone, cubic zirconia, cuprite

D
Diamond

Diamond

Also: diopside and diopside variants (chrome), dumortierite

E
F
Fluorite

Fluorite

Also: feldspar, fossil, fossil coral, fossil stone

G
Garnet

Garnet

Also: gaspeite, goldstone (any color), goshenite

H
Hemalyke

Hemalyke

Also: hemimorphite, hessonite, howlite (white), hypersthene

I
J
Jet

Jet

Also: jade and "jade" variants (African, black, Ching Hai, jadeite, Malaysia, mountain, new, peace, soo chow), jasper and "jasper" variants (African green, Aqua Terra, autumn, blue sky, brecciated, bumblebee, camel, camo stone, dalmatian, dendritic, dragon blood, fancy, flower, green earth, green line, jungle, Jupiter, Kambaba, leopardskin, mocha mint, moukaite, mustang, noreena, ocean, orbicular, peridot, Picasso, picture, polychrome, rainbow, rainbow brecciated, red, red creek, red flake, safari, saguaro, sesame, silver leaf, silver mist, sky eye, snowflake, spiderweb, striped, sunset, Terra Rosa, tiger zebra iron, tigerskin, turtle, Venus, zebra)

K
Kyanite

Kyanite

Also: kunzite

L
Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli

Also: labradorite, landscape stone, larimar, lava stone, lepidolite

M
Moonstone (white) or Marcasite

Moonstone (white) or Marcasite

Also: magnesite, magnetite, malachite, red "malachite," marble, mica, moldavite, moonstone variants (multicolored, pink flake, rainbow, silver), morganite

N
O
Opal

Opal

Also: obsidian variants (golden sheen, mahogany, snowflake), onyx variants (black, striped), opal and "opal" variants (blue, brandy, Coober Pedy, Ethiopian, fire, Gilson, green, honey, Mexican, moss, Peruvian, pink)

P
Pearl

Pearl or Peridot

Also: petrified wood, pietersite, pinolith, pipestone, prehnite, purple creek stone, pyrite

Q
Quartz Crystal (Clear Quartz)

Quartz Crystal (Clear Quartz)

Also: quartz variants (cat's eye, lemon, rose, smoky, snow, solar, tourmalinated)

R
Ruby

Ruby

Also: rainbow calsilica, rhodochrosite, rhodonite, rhyolite, riverstone

S
Sapphire (Blue)

Sapphire (Blue)

Also: sardonyx, selenite, septarian, seraphitite, serpentine, soapstone, sodalite, spinel, stichtite, sugilite, sunstone

T
Turquoise

Turquoise

Also: tanzanite, tektite, tiger iron, tigereye, topaz, tourmaline

U
V
Vesuvianite

Vesuvianite

Also: variscite, verdite

W
X

N/A

Y

N/A

Z
Zircon

Zircon

Also: zoisite (may have ruby inclusions)


Making Acrostic Jewelry


There are many forms acrostic jewelry can take: a single piece of jewelry, a pair of earrings, stackable rings or bracelets, necklaces of long messages—and more! Here are different categories of setting types and what length of message each can carry:


Prong and Tension (Wrap) Settings for Faceted Gems, Chatons, Rhinestones and Cabochons


The simplest place to start is with what are commonly called "mother's rings." These multi-stone ring settings can carry traditional messages of AMOR (Amethyst, Moonstone, Opal, Ruby), ADORE (Amethyst, Diamond, Opal, Ruby, Emerald), REGARD (Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Ruby, Diamond) and DEAREST (Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Turquoise)—as well as names and other words! Try our selection of natural, enhanced and synthetic faceted stones for a great starter alphabet!

Four multi-stone rings
  • Multi-Stone Rings (aka "mother's rings")
    • Up to 4 letters using rings for 3.5mm round faceted stones
    • Up to 5 letters using rings for 3.5mm round faceted stones
    • Up to 6 letters using rings for 3.5mm round faceted stones
    • Up to 7 letters using rings for 3.5mm round faceted stones


Hemalyke, Iolite, Sapphire

Short messages can be conveyed with stacking rings featuring tiny single stones—three rings of Hemalyke™, Iolite and Sapphire spell that you're HIS:

Longer messages can be conveyed with necklace settings, with the settings not used for meaningful letters filled with a neutral stone (like black onyx or mountain "jade"). How about a necklace featuring a center spelling Bloodstone, Emerald, Turquoise, Hemalyke—then 1 spacer stone—then Amethyst, Nephrite, Diamond—then 1 spacer stone—then Moonstone, Amethyst, Ruby, Citrine; and filling out the rest of the necklace with white mountain "jade" stones? What a great piece of jewelry for BETH AND MARC on their wedding!


Stone and pendant setting
  • Necklaces
    • Up to 34 letters using necklaces for SS39 chatons or faceted stones
    • Up to 38 letters using necklaces for SS39 chatons or faceted stones
    • Up to 41 letters using necklaces for SS29 chatons or faceted stones
    • Up to 43 letters using necklaces for SS39 chatons or faceted stones
    • Up to 47 letters using necklaces for SS29 chatons or faceted stones
    • Up to 53 letters using necklaces for SS29 chatons or faceted stones
cupchain

Cabochon and Other Flat Backs (glue on, stone set, dangles/briolettes/drops)


Want different stones than what you've got available as faceted gems and cabochons? Glue-on settings let you use not only calibrated stones, but also freeform flat back components of all shapes.


pendant setting
  • Pendants
    • Up to 12 letters using pendant component with 12 PP24 chaton settings
  • Assemble your own!
    • Create a necklace or bracelet connected by jumprings or split rings using glue-in link settings
    • Hanging on cord or chain using glue-in drop settings
cupchain


Dangles


Not really a glue-in kind of jewelry maker? Add gemstone bead drops and briolettes to any ready-to-use multi-loop findings to convey messages like JENN (Jet, Emerald, Nephrite, Nephrite), heart drop, SARA (Sapphire, Amethyst, Ruby, Amethyst)—or ask a question like WED (Wood, Emerald, Diamond) ME (Moonstone, Emerald).


round setting


Dione® Add A Bead System


You know what makes acrostic jewelry ultra-simple? Yeah, Dione—just open the end, slide on the bead, close the end. You can easily change messages throughout the day: HUSH (Hemalyke, Unakite, Sodalite, Hemalyke) in the morning before your coffee, SHARP (Sodalite, Hemalyke, Agate, Rhodonite, Pearl) after you get some, and PUB (Pearl, Unakite, Bone) in the afternoon for your destination when you leave work. (You'll never have to worry about that weird guy from the office crashing your girls' night out, again.)



Pavé-Style/Resin-Set


Bangle bracelet

Fill a channel with Apoxie® Sculpt and crystal chatons or rivolis—or gemstone chips—that let the colors flow one into another. Or glue flat back components down to a flat surface and fill the space with Magic-Glos®.


Bead Stringing (stretch and otherwise)


Of course, one of the easiest ways to make acrostic jewelry is simply to string gemstone beads and pearls! You can let the letters run together to conceal the meaning, or separate the words with metal beads, chainmaille clusters, lengths of chain and more. Gemstone beads offer the largest alphabet, too, with letters not available in other jewelry-making components (such as vesuvianite for spelling "LOVE").


Being able to keep private meanings private—when everything seems to be out in public—is an enchanting idea whose time has come again. Acrostic jewelry lets you spell out love, flirt with secrecy, whisper your special day to the world—no one will ever know except you and those you let into the secret.



Commemorative Jewelry: Mementos from Yesterday for Today's World


First used during the 15th century and made popular by the Victorians, commemorative jewelry has reappeared as a method of creating truly unique and one-of-a-kind pieces of art. Commemorative jewelry—also known as "friendship jewelry," "mourning jewelry" and "hairwork"—uses images or hair of loved ones to create mementos of family, personal achievement, affection and remembrance.


Memory and Celebration


Design Idea NA3D

Now, as then, a lock of hair can be a significant signpost: a baby's first haircut, a young adult joins the armed forces, an engagement is celebrated, a parent or grandparent passes away. And images of those we care for have always found a place on the walls of a home, within a locket, inside photo albums and on the computer.


While most people today believe historical jewelry and décor of this type was only used to remember a deceased loved one, commemorative pieces back then also marked happier occasions: births, friendships, graduations, engagements, weddings and more. Schoolgirls often exchanged pins, each with a lock of her hair underneath clear crystal or glass. Weddings marked the occasion for adding a tress of the bride's hair to a family tree of braided hairwork. Soldiers parted from their sweethearts by leaving a lock of hair for her to place in her locket, along with his miniature portrait. During and after the American Civil War, they were profound tokens of mourning, remembrance and celebration of a happy return.


Design Idea MD2V

These days, digital photography and graphics programs make creating commemorative jewelry and décor even easier. Transparent media such as Omni-Gel™, Mod Podge® and resin can be used to create layers of memories, while beads and findings can be added to embellish hairwork.


Modern commemorative jewelry and household décor is exchanged for all the same reasons as the Victorians had. While many people now find hair jewelry—especially in memoriam pieces—morbid or macabre, in the days before widespread photography, hair jewelry was as cherished as a favorite webcam image is now.

Recreate This Style


Hair-weaving techniques are easier than ever with the prevalence of kumihimo cord-braiding supplies and techniques, as well as French knitting and standard braiding. You can find tutorials for preparing the hair on the internet or in books on loan from libraries. Hair braiding and weaving styles work best for longer hair, of course, although short locks can be woven into plaid-like patterns.


Then there are a few techniques and supplies the Victorians didn't have that modern artists do:


Design Idea NE4H
  • Clear, two-part Resin easily suspends locks of hair, images—even baby teeth—in settings or in flexible molds. Create cabochons, pendants and drops—even full bangle bracelets!
  • Mona Lisa Metal Leaf, clear, top coat sealant, Judi Kins Diamond Glaze™ and Magic-Glos® by Lisa Pavelka clear sealants will protect images and organic components like hair from the elements
  • Omni-Gel photo-transfer and Kato Polyclay™ liquids turn pictures into translucent images that adhere to glass, polymer clay, gemstone and other materials
  • Add personal tokens to small glass bottles, Mod Podge artistic labels on them and seal shut. Hang from ribbon, cord or strung jewelry.
  • Turn printed programs from christenings, graduations, military promotions and other ceremonies into beads using the Paper Bead Roller. String like other beads.

Commemorative Jewelry Design Ideas


  • Baby's First Haircut: Baby picture with lock of hair necklace
  • Engagement: Smiling couple pendant
  • Wedding: Woven hair pendant
  • Military: Soldier's image under glass cabochon, soldered foil bezel
  • Family History: Earring with vintage photo transfer
  • In Memoriam: Double-sided glass cab pendant necklace with man's picture on front and hair on back, sliding knot closure on satin cord


Memorial Jewelry


"See this man; make him real in your mind, as in ours; for in the realm of matter, he lives now only in our memories."

                            - Paladin of Souls, LM Bujold


We want to remember those we've lost and feel close to them even though they're gone from this world. We save images of them, old letters, that last voicemail. Sometimes, it's not enough—we need something to touch that was them.


Memorial jewelry answers that need.


Mourning Jewelry and Its Offspring


You might have heard of mourning jewelry, which initially began in the 1600s and shot into culture-wide popularity during the mid-1800s. Mourning jewelry included miniature portraits, photographs, painted scenes and sometimes pieces of the person. Hairwork—art made from the hair of the deceased—was highly popular, with baby teeth sometimes included when the deceased was the child who had recently lost them.


Mourning jewelry is not the same as memento mori jewelry, although they may share colors and imagery. ''Memento mori jewelry'' urges us to celebrate and love life now because our time is short.


Memorial jewelry is an outgrowth of mourning jewelry, as it encompasses new technologies and materials. In addition, memorial jewelry can include our four-footed family members.


Memorial jewelry helps us grieve the loss of all the beings we've loved.



Memorial Jewelry


Design Idea MH3S

These days, mourning jewelry isn't viewed the same as it was in its time. To those who originally wore mourning jewelry, it was part of their grief process. To us, it can seem a little creepy or slightly macabre: I don't want body parts in my jewelry.


Memorial jewelry can avoid this if your customer is uncomfortable with the idea of a lock of hair or other physical component of the deceased being in their jewelry. There are other elements to use—some of the most popular being images, handwriting and fingerprints. The backs or insides of different pieces can be engraved with names, dates, quotes and more.


Do note, however, that pet memorial jewelry often includes some component from the animal: a few hairs from your horse's tail, a whisker from your cat, a tuft of your dog's hair, a feather your parrot molted, etc.


Images


These days, a photograph of our loved one is the most common memorial token. With a single image, we remember the way our loved ones were.

  • Lockets
    • Lockets are the original memorial jewelry. Use it to hold one to two images or as a little container to store a token: a folded note, a pebble from a walkway, a tiny seashell.
    • Watch bodies can be used the same way as lockets—just with a little more room.
  • Photo transfer
    • Omni-Gel™ is a liquid transfer agent that can shift a version of a printed image to glass, metal, fabric, leather or canvas. Seal the image onto the surface and use the component however you like.
  • ''Tinning Copper Foil''
    • This "stained glass" technique adds a metal rim to the edges of flat glass pieces. Place the image between two panes, edge them with copper foil and solder. (You can add a bail or jumpring this way, too.) Just keep the image slightly smaller than the glass or you'll set your image on fire.
  • Sealed under


Handwriting


Metal disc etched with writing

Turn their name, in their own handwriting, into a memento. (Don't forget private messages or nicknames they may have used. "Love, Mother" in Mom's handwriting can mean so much.) These can often be treated and saved the same as an image. But there are other ways, too:


  • Save an image of their handwriting—a personal message or a signature—like you did for images above.
    • You have lots of choices, see above.
  • Recreate in wire
    • If you're a wireworker, you can get an image of their writing and recreate it in wire. This works beautifully with cursive handwriting—especially those who have beautiful cursive.
    • You can leave the wire as is, or embed it into polymer or metal clay and bake or fire it.
  • Metal clay or Polymer clay
    • Print the phrase or signature onto very thin paper, then lay over rolled out clay. Trace over the paper with medium pressure (try to not tear it), to create an impression in the clay. Sometimes a birthstone or crystal rhinestone in their birthstone colors can be added (check if they can stand the heat). Fire or bake as instructions demand.
  • Etching
    • Of course, you can always take it to a jeweler to have it etched. A number of larger jewelers can create personalized etching for you. Just make sure you insist on it being the handwriting. Some etching machines are computer-driven and use a range of standard fonts. Have them treat the words like a custom image.


Fingerprints


No two fingerprints are the same—even identical twins have differences! What could be more personal? Some funeral homes will let you request a few fingerprints. They won't give you a full set, but you can ask for a few crisp, well-defined prints. (Just let them know what they're for—it may be an added fee.) If your loved one is passing after a long illness, you can get impressions while they are still at the hospital or in their home.


If you are creating memorial jewelry for a furry or feathery loved one, then getting a nose or paw impression is even easier!

  • Get a mold of a thumbprint, paw print or doggie nose using molding compounds. These how-tos will help you choose the one that works for your project:
  • Molding Compound
  • Take a print
    • Get an inkpad for stamping from your local craft store. (They're also available in most general merchandise stores that have a crafts section—such as Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart, etc.) Take a fingerprint, paw print or nose print yourself. For small children, it may be more convenient to create a full hand or foot stamp. Mica sheets can be easily stamped with ink, so don't forget about this option.
    • You can press clays, cast resins, create prints ... whatever is needed to make memorial tokens. Treat them as images, too, and use whatever medium works best for you when preserving an image.


Loss—and the grief that goes with it—is part of being human. Whoever and wherever we love, we will also miss the beings and places we love when they are gone. Memorial jewelry helps us remember them and helps us feel close to them, even though they are gone from the world.



Have a question regarding this project? Email Customer Service.