Mother’s Day Gift Idea: Photo Charm Bracelet

I love the look of a charm bracelet – eclectic pieces that are put together to create a one-of-a-kind bracelet. Here’s a great DIY Mother’s Day gift idea: add photos of kids or grandkids to clear charms to attach to a new charm bracelet. Add themed charms and mom will have a jingle jangling accessory that will remind her of the people she loves.

This Mother’s Day gift idea is a very basic jewelry project, and uses only basic jewelry-making tools and materials. It makes a great keepsake gift for a mother or grandmother. Just make sure each kid is represented on the bracelet!

Mother’s Day Gift Idea Charm Bracelet Supplies:

• Darice Signed, Sealed & Remembered Silver Bracelets.
• Darice Signed, Sealed & Remembered 1″ Crystal Drops.
• Industrial Glue such as E-6000 or Super Glue Fix-All.
• Silver Jump Rings.
• Darice Flat-nose Pliers.
• Precision Scissors (or a craft knife).
• Steampunk Teapot Charms (or other charms of your choice).
• Printed Photos of your Choice.

Step one: Gather Photos. Before you start, gather some good face photos of the people you want to feature on the bracelets. Make sure their faces print up smaller than 1″ each. I used Picmonkey.com to create a collage of small square photos and then I printed it on one sheet of photo paper on my home printer.

Step two: Prepare the Photo Charms. Spread a sparing amount of industrial glue on the back of a crystal drop, then set the drop on the face photo of your choice. Smooth out any bubbles that appear over the image.

Let the glue dry for several hours, according to package directions.

When the glue is dry, trim around the glass pebble with precision scissors or a craft knife.

Now it’s time to find your favorite other charms to fill in the bracelet. I used Steampunk Teapot charms.

Step three: Assemble the Charm Bracelet. Lay a bracelet out in front of you, and arrange the charms in the order you would like them to appear on the bracelet.

Add a jump ring to each charm and photo, then put the charm on a specific link on the bracelet. Close the jump ring.

Note: To open a jump ring, hold one side of the ring with pliers, and gently pull the other side of the ring toward you. The jump ring should look like a tiny Slinky that is being stretched, NOT like an open O with a gap in it. When you close the jump ring, close it the same way you opened it, pulling the coils together until they click.

I attached the photo charms first, then fill in between them with the Steampunk Teapot charms. Using a mix of metal colors adds to the eclectic “charm” of this bracelet.

You can add any other charms or embellishments to this Mother’s Day gift idea, according to mom’s taste and style.

I hope you enjoyed this Mother’s Day gift idea – have fun creating!

Heather

Heather Mann is the mother of four boys and designs and shares clever crafts with a frugal twist at her site Dollar Store Crafts. She’s also fascinated by the unsuccessful (yet humorous) side of crafting, and explores it at her site CraftFail, and in her new book, CraftFail: When Handmade Goes Horribly Wrong.

http://dollarstorecrafts.com