Hand Stamped Gift Ideas | Stamped Wine Stopper

Hey friends!  Well, if you’re like me, you’re on the lookout right now for handmade gift ideas.  I spotted a wine stopper with a blank bezel recently, and I knew that I wanted to stamp a metal blank to add my own special message! I’m an ImpressArt blogger who is always trying to think up new hand stamped gift ideas to share with you, and they are sponsoring today’s project.

Here’s what you’ll need for this fun, personalized hand stamped gift idea!

• Steel Bench Block
• ImpressArt Ergo Angle Hammer
• Jeannie 4mm font in upper and lower case
• Stamp Straight Tape
• Stamp Enamel
• 7/8 inch round blank (I used aluminum, but any metal would work well)
• Wood Doming Block and Punches
• Wine Stopper with 7/8 empty bezel
• E6000 or your preferred heavy-duty adhesive

If you’re brand new to stamping, this isn’t my only tutorial.  I have several projects and videos if you check the metal stamping tab in the navigation bar.  You can check out my beginner’s stamping tutorial if after reading this post, you still have questions – or just comment below!

To create this piece, I used both upper and lowercase letters.  I taped my blank down with stamp straight tape, which helps not only to stabilize it, but to help with the vertical alignment of your letters.  If you drag the stamp gently toward the tape, it will catch on the edge.  Tap the top of your stamp with your hammer with one firm tap to create an impresion.  As you move along, stamping your letters, the stamp straight tape will keep your letters along the same (invisible) line.

When you’ve stamped your message, it’s time to darken the impressions.  Because aluminum doesn’t oxidize, the best way to get those nice dark letters is to use stamp enamel.  Fill it into the letters, wait 10 seconds, and wipe the excess away with a paper towel.  No polishing, no alcohol – the stamp enamel is my favorite way to darken impressions!

At this point, I decided that rather than a flat blank, I wanted it to have a little dimension – so I domed it!  I placed the disc, message side down, into one of the grooves of my doming block.  With the large punch, I tapped gently all the way around the blank at the top of the punch with my hammer, until it was evenly rounded.

A quick note about doming: Using aluminum, I did lose a little bit of the shine on the outside.  It doesn’t look scratched, but the minute scratches and pressure were enough that it came out with a more matted finish.  I think that domed effect was well worth losing a little shine, personally!  But I want to give you fair warning if you try this project, you may experience the same thing.  You’re not doing anything wrong, and you’re not the only one!  It’s just in the interest of full disclosure that I mention it! :)

Finally, I used a bit of E6000 to glue the disc into place, and I can’t wait to give this gift with a bottle of wine!

Thanks for joining me today, and I hope you liked this project!  It shows that there are LOTS of things you can stamp – not just jewelry.  Happy stamping!

Note: As a 2015 ImpressArt blogger, I occasionally receive free products to bring my ideas to life.  All opinions, experiences, and ideas in this post are my own.