Tutorial: Metal-Stamped Milagros!

One of the projects on our 6th Annual Crafty Chica Cruise was metal stamping, thanks to Impress Art. It was one of those projects that I knew I wanted to explore more after we completed the trip. Finally, last week I was able to play with these products. I always have a big bag of Mexican milagros on hand in the studio. They're metal! I knew it would be a match made in crafty heaven - and it was! Here is where I buy my milagros (Suenos Imports) and are the directions for this project:

To complete this project, you'll need some metal milagros that are flat. I tried all of the styles and the flattest ones worked the best! You'll also need a letter set, a hammer, tape, a permanent marker and a steel block.

 

Tape your milagro to the steel block and pick out your letters. Make sure they are lined up right. I colored on the tips with the markers and pressed it on the table, just to be sure!
 Use the bottom tape as a guideline for your letters. It's ok if they aren't super straight, you'll get better over time, the more you practice. Line up your stamp and give it a could few poundings. (NOTE: Make sure there are no glasses of water on the edge of your table because they will fall off during the pounding process, trust me!)

Once you've stamped in your letters, you need to make them really pop! Take a black permanent marker and color generously in the grooves of the letters. Immediately wipe away the ink off the top of the milagro. Now the ink will  have settled in the letters! Isn't that cool?

Here is what it looks like when you're done!

I couldn't  help but make a few more!

I used one of my friend's charms from her product line (Industrial Chic by Susan Lenart Kazmer!) to make this necklace with my stamped milagro.