Handmade Christmas Gift for a Penny!

Well....maybe not for a penny but on a penny?  If you're like me and tired of  all of the plastic and throw away Christmas gifts that are out there year after year and you have time to get a little creative with your gift giving on the cheap then this little tutorial is for you!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Penny any year will do but maybe you'll want the person's birth year?
2. Flux 
3. Lead free solder 
4. Small torch or a soldering iron will work too! 
5. Metal stamp (I was lucky enough to find an antique set) but you can pick up an  inexpensive set at Harbor Freight for around $10 for the smallest size.
6. A good hammer 
7. A firebrick or I use a brick from my yard 
8. A drill to make a hole in the penny or you can glue on a bail. 
9. Jump ring for hanging.  
10. A necklace chain or my go to standard necklace is a metal ball chain like the pull chain on a fan.

 

 

• The first thing you do is make sure that the penny is super clean and free from any oils.
• Apply flux to the entire side of the penny...I do this on the tail side so the date will still be visible.
• Apply a generous amount of solder to the penny making sure that there's enough to create a dome and the sides are heated so the solder meets the edge.  If you have a solder pick you can manipulate the solder to the sides a bit or you can actually just use the solder on the roll to quickly move it.
• Once this is done let the penny cool completely...and I mean completely otherwise you WILL get burned.
• Select your stamp(s).  You can either stamp a single initial on this or a short word or name.  The solder is a really soft surface so your stamp will sink in really nicely and make a perfect indentation.
• Move your penny to a hard surface.
• Stamp your penny making sure that there's enough room at the top of the penny so you can drill a hole or if you're using a glue on bail you can stamp clear up to the top.
• THIS IS THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS PROJECT....if you mess up and hate the way the stamping looks then simply melt the solder again...let it cool and stamp it over! 
• When you're done stamping either drill a hole in the penny or attach the glue on bail.
• Use a sharpie to fill in the stamped area and remove the excess with a little alcohol on a rag.
• Shine the surface with some fine steel wool.....I do this first and then finish it off with my secret weapon....an inexpensive 4 sided buffer from WalMart that I purchased in the nail section....I use them to shine all of my metal jewelry creations.
• Add the jumpring and hang from the chain of your choice.