Wax String Alcohol Ink Washer Bracelets: Part 1

Okay, so that’s a mouthful. This project combines some of my favorite crafts: wax string bracelets, metal stamping, and alcohol inks. It was fun to take on a project that combined a lot of different techniques, but it’s also one where even if you don’t have the supplies—or interest—to do any part(s) of this, it’s so flexible that you can make whatever you like! I’ve also realized that you can do some of the steps in different orders, so feel free to go with whatever feels right to you. I’ll tell you what I’ve done and what I’ve used, but you can make it your own in so many different ways.

I decided to break up this post into two parts because this post was getting pretty huge. So first I’ll show you how to stamp, color, and coat the washers. I’ll offer up a couple of suggestions of want you could turn them into pendants, but in my next post I’ll show you how to turn them into bracelets—my own personal favorite. You can see Part 2 here!

I’m a big fan of alcohol inks, as you may already know. I love all of the colors and that they’re a little bit unpredictable. Each piece you make with them is different. Before this project I had used them on tiles and in resin, but this is the first time I’d used them on metal. I’m also a big fan of inspirational words, so I wanted to try to combine the beauty and color of the inks with the meaningful.

Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links through the Amazon affiliate program or other affiliate partnerships. If you click on a link and buy something, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

Supplies:

metal washers

waxed polyester cord

hand-stamping letters/numbers and supplies

alcohol ink

alcohol ink stamp

Kamar Varnish OR resin (UV resin and UV lamp)

permanent marker

candle lighter

You can find washer-shaped stamping blanks at the craft store in the jewelry section, but I bought a bag of 100 3/4” washers from Amazon that was much more economical. You can get them in all sorts of sizes. Stamping blanks are softer metal and easier to stamp than the harder washers, but you’ll see that I had success with the washers I used when I used small letter sets.

So far I’ve bought my alcohol inks from craft store in 3-packs. I still dream of owning this set though.

I ordered my stamping supplies from beaducation.com years ago, but these days you can find them on Amazon, as well as at craft stores. The trick is finding a set that works with whatever you’re planning to stamp. I was using 1/16” first, and then I discovered that I have a 3/32” set, and I switched to that. The bigger letters are easier to read, but the words have to be pretty short to fit the washers I use once you attach the bracelet strings. I’m still experimenting with different sizes.

I knew I wanted to protect the alcohol ink in some way, but I wasn’t sure how. So I read lots of blog posts to try to figure out what other people have used. Not surprisingly, I found lots of different opinions. But Krylon’s Kamar Varnish came up multiple times. I don’t know why it works better than other varnishes, but it doesn’t seem to affect the alcohol ink, and that’s really what I was concerned about.

Since then I have also used UV resin with great success. It also has not affected the ink as far as I can tell. The beauty of this particular resin is that it cures FAST. The squeeze bottle makes it easy to apply. It also domes nicely, which I think adds a little something special. I think I’m going to go back to the ones I varnished and add a layer of resin on top. It’s my new go-to.

I’ve read about specific doming resins that you can use, but I haven’t used tried them. On the plus side, you don’t need a UV lamp or a sunny day, but I think they’re two-part resins, so it’s a bit more of a process (definitely a longer one) over all.

I resisted buying the actual alcohol ink stamps at first, and instead I attached some stick-on velcro to a wood block and cut some squares out of white felt to hold the ink. This worked fine, but it felt like overkill for the 3/4” washers I was using. (For a bigger stamping project I think it would be perfect.) I ended up buying the mini stamp set anyway, and it works great. I figured I would just cut out some refills when I need them, but as it turns out the refills are round, and there are few things I dislike more than cutting circles out of felt, so I’ll most likely end up just buying refills.

Let’s get started! 

Here are the basic steps:

color washers

stamp washers

coat washers

Now, I’ve decorated the washers different ways and in different orders. I was excited to try out the alcohol inks, so I decorated a bunch of washers before I ever decided to stamp them. Then I stamped them, and they turned out well. When I made my second batch, I decided to stamp them first. After my recent experience of botching every word I tried to stamp, I was glad to be stamping plain washers rather than ruining pretty ones. Another advantage of doing it this way is that you can fill in the letters to try to make them more readable. (You can try, anyway. I’ll discuss more in a bit.) You may have to rub some excess away with rubbing alcohol, so if you’ve already used alcohol ink, you’d be wiping the color away. HOWEVER, I didn’t have a lot of success doing that, and I actually think the ones I colored first are more readable. Maybe because the impressions are silver instead of being filled in by color? It’s one of those things I think you just have to try for yourself and see what you like. For me, I think I’ll continue trying to get deeper impressions so that the Sharpie trick** will hopefully work, but failing that I’ll probably take my chances and go back to stamping the already colored washers.

If you’ve never tried metal stamping before, I would suggest practicing on something before you try the washers. Let me just say this—even after much practice, my washers definitely look hand-stamped. That’s okay! But it does take some practice to get a feel for the stamps. You can actually buy sheets of a softer metal to practice on. I’ve had the best success stamping over concrete. I use a metal block to stamp on, but the harder the surface underneath, the deeper the impressions I can get. My porch and patio steps are my favorite places to work, but in the winter I work inside on a little wooden table/stool that is low to the ground. Next time I’ll try my basement floor!

Remember when you’re stamping your words that you’re going to attach your strings to both sides of the washer. If your word is too long, it’ll get cut off by the strings. The smaller the stamp size the longer your word can be. 

Here’s my list of inspirational words…

Brave

Strong

Courage

Live

Love

Believe

Dream 

Thankful

Smile

Kindness

Joy

Imagine

Faith

Grateful

Blessed

Magical

Sunshine

Happiness

Wishful

Peace

Hope

What inspires you?

** Here’s the bonus step I mentioned above. To make the words more readable, you can fill them in with a black Sharpie. Make sure to get down inside the letters, and if you get any on the washer outside the letter, you can use a paper towel with a little bit of alcohol ink to wipe it away. The ink should stay inside the letters. I’ve had mixed success with this. I ended up wiping away most of the Sharpie. I need to work on getting deeper impressions, I think. 

In any case, here’s how to make them colorful!

To color the washers, put a few drops of color on your felt stamp. Then just press down on the washer, and then just keep stamping on top of what you’ve already done. I found that the ink from the first couple of stamps I did spread out, which was pretty but maybe not quite the look I was going for. I started stamping a few times and then letting it dry for a couple of minutes before stamping again. Eventually I started getting the pretty layers of color and alcohol ink look. Some of mine are super colorful, and others have fewer colors. I’ve used all sorts of color combinations, and some of the prettiest ones were made with only two colors.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

At this point I let the washers sit for a while. When I used the Kamar Varnish, I waited a few hours. When I used just the UV resin, I waited 24 hours. I don’t know if it’s necessary to wait that long, but it’s what I’ve done. 

If you spray them with the Kamar Varnish, ideally you want multiple thin coats. I took mine outside in a shallow box and sprayed them three times, waiting about 30 minutes in between coats. Then I let them sit for 24 hours before I touched them again.

If you want to do resin in addition to or instead of the varnish, squeeze a little resin around the washer and use a toothpick to spread it out to the edges. I put the washers on a little piece of cardboard so that I can pick it up and look at it from all angles. Once you’re happy with the way the resin looks, put it under the UV light to cure. I cured mine for two minutes, and they are perfect.

Once the washers are coated, you’re done! You could stop here if you want to. You could string them on necklace chains and call it good, or you could use a little E6000 and some glue-on pendant bails to make them into necklaces that way. In my next post, though, I’ll show you how to turn them into bracelets. Stay turned for that!