We always have a special Christmas lesson for our Young Women at one of our homes the Sunday before Christmas and wanted something special to give our Beehive class. My wonderful adviser and crafty girl extraordinaire, Amanda (from Every Crafty Endeavor), came up with the idea and the supplies to do stamped washer necklaces that say Courage to go along with next year’s mutual theme. I am so nice and took pics of the process so that you can do it too. I know, I know…too kind.
(Stay tuned for how we tie them in to the Christmas nativity lesson)
Supplies Needed:
- Heavy Hammer (you can use a regular one, you will just have to hit harder)
- Washers (ours were about an inch)
- Alphabet stamp set
- Black permanent marker
- Baby wipe
- Leather, ribbon, or a chain to put the charm on
Stamp sets are available on Amazon for $15 if you need one. *Update: I just bought a stamp set on sale from Harbor Freight for $10 including shipping!
See cute Amanda demonstrating her great skill.
4. Now just thread your “chain” of choice through the hole and you are good to go.
I love how they turned out! I love that they represent the theme so well! “Be strong and of a good courage.” Joshua 1:9
Now, for how they will be tied to the lesson. We are going to be talking about how each of the people in the Nativity Story had to have great courage. We will talk about each piece of the nativity as we place it on the table and also have a song to go with it.
- Mary-to be the mother to God’s Son and to travel to Bethlehem 9 mos. pregnant and give birth in a stable
- Joseph-to find out his wife to be will be giving birth to God’s Son
- Jesus-to be the one to volunteer to come to earth and sacrifice himself for us
- Shepherds-to have an angel come and then go to find the Christ child. Spreading the word to others.
- Three Kings-followed a star to find the Christ child and did not tell Herod where He was
I am so excited for this lesson! It is so personal to have it in Amanda’s home with the fire crackling and everything so cozy. Last year, the Christmas lesson was AMAZING and I can only imagine this year will be the same!
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Did you use washers from the hardware store? We tried a while ago and it never dented. Or did you get them from a craft store?
Amanda’s husband picked them up for us so I am going to say hardware store. I can’t see him in a craft store. 😉
What a great idea! Just passed it along to one of our Beehive advisors!
Where did you get the stamp set and do you know about how much it costs?
Cute idea! I think the girls will love them and also associate it with the Savior
Amanda bought the stamp set, but I imagine it came from a hardware store or Harbour Freight. I found one on Amazon for $15. I put the link on the post.
These are fun, we did them at our last family reunion, our theme was hawaiian so ours said, Aloha! We used all different colors of sharpies too.
One more thing. Are you going to make a “handout” for the YW theme? We are giving our girls a cd and thought that might work as a cover. You’re the best!
My Husband bought the Washers at Lowes. There are a bunch of different sizes. He bought the ones that are an inch and an inch and a half. I think they worked well.
These are so cute. I love getting ideas from others. I also saw something you posted about a birthday idea where you would give the girls socks and a thought about walking in the footsteps of Christ.. Did you have that thought yet? Is it a poem? I would love to use it. I’ve been looking for one to go along with that idea. You don’t know me, but anyway you could e mail me or I’ll subscribe to this posts comments so I can hear your reply. THANK YOU!!
Ok…what is the secret? I bought the same stamp set, washers at lowes and I cant get them to indent…..Please help!
I have the same problem! Why isn’t it working for me?!
To all those having problems, I talked to Amanda and the only things we could think of are maybe you need a heavier hammer. You have to hit them pretty hard. She bought the “fender” washers if that is helpful. Also, make sure it is a steel stamping set like you can get at Harbour Freight. Other than that, I’m not sure why it would not work out. So sorry I don’t have more insight!
I ended up using a heavier hammer and it worked perfectly! Thank you so much for the idea! We are giving them to our girls for New Beginnings…cant wait!
Thanks, Sarah
Thank you so much for sharing your tutorial, it was well written and easy to follow. Yesterday a couple of friends and I gave it a try and had the absolute best time. I’ve posted it on my blog today and added a link back to your tutorial. Thanks again!
You guys are so, so creative – I’m going to do some necklaces for our infertility support group – I can’t WAIT to surprise all of them!
Very cute!
Hi,
I love Christmas Lesson Idea. I was wondering if you could email the songs that were used while you talked about each nativity figure. I’m in charge of the Lesson cause we have had 3 people cancel on us.So i have 1 week to get it together. Please help.
sorry here is my email: jaylynnredd@comcast.net
Your tutorial is an awesome inspiration! Many thanks for sharing. I would like to feature your designs at http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/
Kindly contact me here if you have a concern.
Jane
http://diylessons.org/
http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/
This is really weird… I have been wanting to get a stamp set, and now I know where to get them! Thanks so much for the tutorial!
Just wanted to let you know that the reason your stamps might not be working is that you are not on a hard enough surface. If you are doing it on a table it will probably not work. I have a steel block and mine will stamp stainless steel. Hope this helps!