Our easy stamped constellation necklaces take about 5 minutes to make and are SO easy. The perfect craft for all ages and great for summer camp and they make great gifts! This post contains affiliate links.
You might also like our yarn rainbow keychains, nail polish washer necklaces or our acrylic dog tag necklaces!
Watch our step by step video!
Constellation Necklaces
I just wrapped another year of crafts for YW Camp. One of the favorite crafts this year were these constellation necklaces! The theme for camp was “Trust in the Lord and Look Up” so there was a heavy focus on the stars, galaxies, and constellations.
My zodiac sign is Aries, and I don't put a lot of stock in the astrology aspect of that, but I do find constellations fascinating. And it's neat to think that the pattern of stars changes as the months and seasons change and I was born under this specific constellation. Normally metal stamping projects can be a little tricky, especially when using letter stamps. There can be quite a bit of trial and error for young crafters, but that wasn’t the case with this project.
I had about 100 girls ages 11-18 come through my station and everyone was able to easily make a necklace. I think we had maybe 1 that needed a second dog tag because her first one didn't turn out the way she had hoped. These necklaces are easy to make because the stamps are small, the metal dog tags are soft, and we used sticker templates. These 3 things eliminated any guesswork.
Stamped Constellation Necklace Supplies
Stamping supplies can be spendy, but I found a couple of ways to stretch our budget and I'll share those tips below!
Constellation Sticker and Stamp Kit: This is the most expensive thing you'll need. I bought mine back in April and they were $19.99 (regular price). I had a 20% off code which made them $15.99 each. For whatever reason it is now going for $39.99, which is ridiculous, so keep an eye on it and purchase it when it's in the $20 range or pop over to Etsy to see if you can find it there.
Each set comes with the metal stamps you'll need AND the sticker templates (the kit DOES NOT come with metal tags to stamp on). I purchased 4 kits and had groups of 6 girls coming through my necklace station at a time (90-100 in total). I probably could have gotten away with 3 sets, but it was nice to have plenty of stamps so that they weren't waiting on each other too much.
Each sticker template book comes with 6 stickers of each zodiac constellation. There are small, medium, and large stickers. I bought 1 ¼" stamping blanks (which fit the largest sticker) so that ANY of the stickers would work. The girls selected which one they wanted to make. The smaller one has mostly dots, while the larger ones include a star or sunburst.
Hammers and Stamping Blocks: Jewelry hammers and metal blocks are expensive if making projects with a large group. Instead of buying official stamping tools I went to Harbor Freight and purchased $2.99 hammers and bought mini cutting boards from Ikea.
I bought 6 of each so that I could have 6 at a time working on their necklaces.
Metal blanks, jump rings, and chains: Not all metal is created equal for stamping. I remember picking up some galvanized washers at Home Depot years ago thinking that it would be easy to stamp some letters onto them and make necklaces. WRONG! Haha. Definitely go with these easy-strike aluminum tags. You only have to hit the stamp 1-2 times with a hammer to make an impression on the round discs. No need to buy fancy gold or sterling silver chains, these ball chains are inexpensive and work great.
Are Constellation Necklaces Easy to Make?
Yes, yes and yes! Scroll down to the end of my post for a step by step photo tutorial and be sure to watch my video!
Like I mentioned above, they take about 5 minutes to make start to finish!
After stamping the constellation you simply add a jump ring and string the dog tag onto a chain necklace!
Easy Stamped zodiac Constellation Necklace Tutorial
Easy Stamped Constellation Necklaces
Equipment
- (see list below)
Materials
- constellation kit (comes with template stickers and metal stamps)
- small cutting board
- masking tape
- 1 ¼" round aluminum dog tag
- hammer (small 8 oz. hammer works great)
- jewelry enamel marker
- paper towel
- jewelry pliers
- jump ring
- ball chain necklace
Instructions
- Select which constellation you'd like to make from the sticker template pack. Each pack comes with 6 stickers for each constellation. If you use 1 ¼" circle dog tags they will be large enough to accomodate all 3 sticker sizes.
- Place constellation sticker template over dog tag. Secure dog tag to cutting board with a small piece of masking tape.
- Find the stamps that match the constellation you'd like to make. Each kit comes with 2 dots, a small sunburst and a large sunburst.
- Stamp the dog tag with the metal stamps. You only need to hit them 1-2 times.
- When finished, peel off the sticker.
- Color over stamped areas with a jewelry enamel pen and let it sit for about 30 seconds.
- Wipe markings off with a paper towel. This will only clean the surface. The ink that went down through the stamping will remain.
- You can definitely see the constellation better after coloring over it.
- Add a jump ring to the dog tag then string it onto a chain or keychain!
- Admire your constellation necklace!
Video
Notes
- The constellation stamp kit comes with 6 of each constellation sticker in different sizes. If you buy 1 ¼" round dog tags they will be large enough to fit all 3 sticker sizes so it doesn't matter which one you use.
- While each sticker template set comes with quite a few stickers, it only comes with 4 metal stamps so it's a good idea to order a few sets if making these with a large group.
- Use soft-strike metal (I linked to the ones I used) for easy stamping. You only have to hit the stamp with a hammer 1 or 2 times.
- Jewelry hammers and stamping blocks are expensive if making with a group. You can buy 8 oz. hammers at Harbor Freight for $3 and a set of 3 small cutting boards from Ikea for $6. This is a much more affordable option if doing stamp projects on a budget.
Muriel A says
Terrific! Thanks!