Not only is there an opportunity for a home based business within fingerprint jewellery, but it is also a handy skill to learn for when your friends and relatives have children. Fingerprint Jewellery is created using a variety of tools, heat, and a child or babies print. They make a perfect present worth cherishing by any parent. So, let's learn how to create them.
First of all, get a flat surface without any kind of texture to it. You could use a piece of paper if you like. Get some specialized metal clay, which will transform into silver once fired. Roll a small piece of the clay out using a plastic rolling pin.
Once your clay is ready, it's time to get the fingerprint from the little one. Make sure they wash and dry their hands first, and ensure you get a perfectly visible fingerprint for which to work with.
Now you will need to use a cutter to cut out the shape for whatever you are making, whether it is a necklace, ring or cufflink. Save the excess clay for something else in the future, and then leave the clay to dry. If you like, you can speed this part up by using a hairdryer, but that's entirely up to you.
If you leave it to dry naturally, leave if for a whole night because if it isn't completely dry, it will crack when fired, which will completely ruin it. When it is dried, use an emery board or nail file to gently smooth around the edges.
Now pop the clay onto a heatproof surface and use a torch to heat it. When it starts glowing at a pink/red color, you need to keep heating it for another couple of minutes before removing the heat. When finished, it won't actually look like silver at this point, so don't worry if it doesn't. Use a pair of tweezers to pick it up and drop it into a cup of water to cool off.
Use a brass brush under water to gently scrub the white layer off the silver. If the silver doesn't appear, you will need to dry it off and heat it again. To finish off, use polishing papers to polish it off.
With time and practice, you will be able to master this somewhat complicated process, and make quality jewellery for yourself. Whether you want to make money from it or just have a new skill, it's a great thing to learn.
Daniel Blinman proudly writes about all things creative. When not creating his own fingerprint jewellery, he is out promoting The Keep Sake Co.
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