Jewelry.
It’s something that is a part of every culture & every history in some form or fashion. Maybe it’s cheap, maybe it’s expensive. Maybe it’s extravagant or simple. Maybe it’s worth a lot of money…or maybe it’s worth a lot of sentiment. No matter what kind it is, it touches all of our lives in some way.
Quite often, jewelry sends a message…usually what that message is depends on the wearer & the circumstance, but on the regular, many people wear some kind of jewelry to remind them who they are, where they’ve come from, or the person they want to be. That’s exactly what Momma’s Hammered Hand-Stamped Jewelry does- the owner & operator, Chandler, creates beautiful jewelry with a message & that is meant to touch the hearts of the ones wearing it. Chandler is the wife of a deputy sheriff & a mother of 2 absolute cuties. She’s a stay-at-home-mom & back in February of 2019 she discovered hand-stamping jewelry as a new outlet, something to “call her own”, & a has found it’s even a great way to contribute to her family. She said it’s something that takes patience to learn & do in order to avoid making mistakes, but she’s also come to find it therapeutic as it gives her time to work on her own, usually when her children have gone to bed. And the name? Well…that was all her husband’s ideas, as a funny joke…but then it just stuck. But trust me, the only thing hammered here is her jewelry.
Her most commonly-used materials are the letter & symbol stamps, the hammer, & she usually works with aluminum blanks for charms & bracelets. She uses aluminum as it doesn’t rust, corrode, or turn your skin green, plus it’s more pliable to work with than other metals. With these, she’s able to create all sorts of beautiful, personalized pieces- bracelets, necklaces, key chains, charms, & more. She’s even willing to try things she’s never tried before- she said “if you see something you want, send me a pic & I’ll absolutely try it out!” Her goal is to be able to work up to working with other higher-end mediums, but those often require specialized stamps that can hold up under the pressure needed for the imprint. Her prices are affordable, but are different for each piece, usually depending on the number of pieces, the amount of letters, or adding special charms. Each piece can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to create, depending on how complicated it is.
I got the opportunity to watch as she created a piece that someone had recently ordered. She starts by writing out the phrase that the person wants on the piece. This helps her find the “center” of the phrase. From there, she marks the center on whatever blank she’s using & tapes it to her work table & then begins to hammer each letter as she wrote it out, working her way out from the center. She uses a special pen to color the lettering black so it can be more easily seen, & then once it’s dry, wipes away the excess & then shapes the piece, if needed. She can even give the piece a really cool “distressed” look, too!
As much as Chandler enjoys the therapeutic “me-time” she gets from making the jewelry, she loves being able to be a part of giving a special gift to someone even more. She often does pieces in remembrance of loved ones, for grandparents, for people needing extra encouragement as they go through the healing process, or pieces that are reminders of encouragement & inspiration through difficult times. She has done pieces for children, for grandparents, for cancer patients, best friends, & more.
So, as we approach the new year with Valentine’s day & other fun holidays looming ahead of us, give Momma’s Hammered Hand-Stamped Jewelry a call. You can reach her through her Facebook page, & she’s in the process of developing an Etsy shop, too. These would be the perfect gifts for any loved one in your life, or just you can just “treat yo’self” to something special just for you. Whatever it may be, Chandler is your girl, so make sure to contact Momma’s Hammered Hand-Stamped Jewelry!
Be blessed, friends!