Stamped Washer Backpack Tags

My mom's birthday was not too long ago so long ago it's nearly here again.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  (I'm getting a new washer necklace post ready, and realized this one's been written for a year and I never published it...and then after editing this to publish it now, I realized I combined it with my post about Father's Day keychains...but I'm going to post this anyway because it will still be new to some of your...thanks for humoring me.)  I can thank my mom for lots of my craftiness since she taught me to sew when I was little enough I had to hand-crank the sewing maching because I wasn't old enough for the foot petal.

I'd been making some washer necklaces for Mothers' Day, which (were finished over a year ago and) I'll show off soon.  As I was making one for my mom, I had the thought...you know these really probably aren't my mom's thing.  Then I had the thought to make these tags for her hiking gear.  My mom loves being outdoors and hiking, and I thought she'd like these.  Of course she won't take them on her hard-core hikes when weight in the back is an issue, but they can be fun to day hikes. 

These would make a great Father's Day gift too!  (Without the little pearl in the middle of course.)

I ordered my stamp set from Harbor Freight online for $5 (plus $7 shipping).  I've already made enough gifts with them that it's been well worth the investment.  If you don't want to stamp your own...you can also order them custom stamped from me in my shop.  For a limited time, I'm offering washers stamped with shorter messages for a set of 4 for $1.25 plus shipping.  (Normal price is $1.75 a set.)

You start by stamping your washers.  You can see my tutorial for stamping the washers here.  Once you've stamped your wsahers, you should end up with something that looks like this...

When I was making the necklaces, I bought whatever things looked useful at Wal-Mart because I have NEVER made ANY jewelry or anything like this before.  The key chain/lanyard hook things came in an 80 piece pack for about $4.  The rings came in a seperate or you can get them in combo packs and you get a ton for not very much.  The rings were a tight fit on the washers, so I kind of squished them to make them looser once I had everything on the way I wanted.  Some needle nose pliers are quite helpful for working the little metal loops where you want them. 

(You'll have to excuse the poor picture quality on some of these.  They were taken with a different camera.)

Here's what I started with...

You start by working the larger ring around the washer with the needle nose pliers.  This is the hardest part.

Then I squished it flat.

Then you work the smaller ring around the larger one.  (Although this can be done before you squish the larger one.)

You can also add an optional pearl.  (I used faux pearl beads I'd saved from a broken bracelet.)  I used the kind of metal ring you can just bend open, put the pearl on, and bent it back closed.

Then add the clip (or keychain ring).

Stay tuned for my post about the washer necklaces...because there just might be a giveaway. :)

And as long as I'm on the subject of stamped washers...

Check out all my posts with stamped washer projects.

Zipper Pull Tab	Grandpa Keychain	Dad Keychain
Grad Keychain	Washer Earrings	T-shirt Bag Tags
How to Stamp a Heart	Washer Necklaces	Backpack Tags
Order Custom Stamped Washers from my Shop

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