DIY Spring Charm Lockets

One of my favorite things to give when I make jewelry gifts are charm lockets.  People LOVE them because they’re so personal, and they’re a beautiful way of expressing yourself!  New charms can be added, they can be changed for the season or for the occasion, and I’m going to show you today how to add a stamped disc to a locket to personalize it even more.  And because spring is here in just a few days, I’m sharing some ideas for spring accessories – including Mother’s Day gift ideas!

You can get these DIY charm lockets in a few different styles and colors and finishes.  For a more traditional look, you can go with classic metal finishes, or enameled or acrylic colors for bright spring themes.  Give a starter locket with a charm (or a couple), and stamp a message or a name for a great gift – your mom (or any friend, of course!) can wear it just as it is, or she can fill it with more charms to make it her own!  The disc is totally removable, so stamping a message for a specific occasion won’t limit your gift.

I found my DIY locket supplies at Goody Beads, and I’ll leave links below to the supplies I used in case you’re excited about this idea and want to make a purchase today!  These are affiliate links, which means if you decide to click and buy, it supports my blog (and thanks, by the way!) and there’s no extra cost to you.

• 30mm locket – I picked up silver and pink stainless steel hinged glass lockets, and also the more economical acrylic purple and orange screw-lid lockets.
• Locket charms
• Bench block and hammer
• Metal stamps – I used ImpressArt’s upper case Lollipop font, and also the lower case Newsprint font
• Permanent marker and polishing pad
• 7/8 inch aluminum round stamping blanks
• 28-36 inches of chain of your choice (I especially like the 28″ adjustable cable chain necklace for these lockets)

I stamped messages primarily on the upper part of a few discs.  Aluminum is a nice soft metal and takes an impression well!  I darkened my impressions with permanent marker, and polished the disc clean.  If you haven’t stamped jewelry before, I have dozens of posts about it!  You can learn more by starting with the beginner’s stamping tutorial for tips on how to get started with photos and video.

Stamping along the edge like I did above is something I find to be quite challenging.  You may find it easier to stamp straight across.  The goal is to keep the stamping at the top of the disc, because the lower half will get filled up with charms.

Just pop the disc and a few charms into the locket to assemble it.  A quick note – if you buy any of the 6mm bezel-set crystal charms from Goody Beads, they don’t *quite* fit in the locket if you also add a disc.  The disc adds just slightly too much thickness.  I didn’t have trouble with any other charm, though!

The acrylic lockets have a screw-on/screw-off lid, and with those, you can use the crystal charms with a disc.  Once you assemble the locket, just string it on a chain.  Another tip – if the end of your chain won’t fit through the bail of your locket, you may have to remove the clasp end temporarily to string it on.  While it’s an extra step, you actually have a more secure design, knowing you can’t lose the locket off the chain when you take it off.

To can also add other springy charms to the necklace – get excited about spring break, say happy birthday, thank your bridesmaids, say I Love You – there are so many different possibilities to personalize these lockets.  You can see why I love giving them as gifts!

For what occasions do you love giving jewelry gifts?