New Jewelry A Day: Hotel Key

Before: Plastic Cards

This colorful bracelet was made from a customer loyalty gift card that came from the pharmacy. After we used the card, the store clerk began to toss it into the trash. We asked her if we could keep the card and she was very surprised to hear that we wanted to use it to make jewelry.

Although we designed the bracelet thinking that only one side would really be seen, when we flipped the finished jewelry over we learned that the opposite side also had an interesting (if unplanned) pattern. Lucky us, now we have a reversible bracelet.

Materials
18-gauge round brass wire

After: Bracelet by Geltdesigns.com

iTunes or other gift card, credit card or other plastic card

Tools
Disc cutter
Ball pein hammer

Size 54 drill bit
Drill (Flex shaft, Drill Press or Dremel)
Center punch or automatic center punch
Round nose pliers or 3-Step wire looping pliers
Chain nose or bent nose pliers
Wire rounder or needle file or cup burr and flex shaft

Back: Bracelet by GeltDesigns

Wire side cutters or flush cutters
Steel bench block or anvil
Rawhide or plastic mallet

Step 1
Measure the wrist of the person for whom you are making the bracelet to determine bracelet size and the amount of materials you will need to construct your bracelet.

Step 2

Use a disc cutter and ball pein hammer to cut the charms for your bracelet. We cut seven charms in two different sizes to construct a 7-1/2 inch long bracelet. Arrange the charms in the order you want to use them for your bracelet.

Step 3
Mark the charms to prepare for drilling. Use a magic marker to mark where you want to drill holes on the cut charms. Use either a center punch or an automatic center punch to create divots in the charms where you marked the plastic. The divots will prevent the drill from slipping when you drill the holes.

Step 4
Drill the holes. Use a size 54 drill bit and a drill of your choice (Flex shaft, Drill Press or Dremel) to drill the holes. Any drill will do but you need to select a drill bit that is approximate in size to the wire you are using to create your links.

Step 5

Create seven "B" links from wire. To create a "B" link, use your round nose pliers or 3-step wire looping pliers to make a loop at one end of your wire. Make a second loop so that the link looks like a "B." Cut the wire from the spool with Wire side cutters or flush cutters. File the end of the wire in your link using either a wire rounder or a needle file or a cup burr and flex shaft. Place each link on a steel bench block or anvil and hammer the links with a rawhide or plastic mallet to harden the metal. Adjust the link with your chain nose or bent nose pliers.

You can use many different gauge wire and you can use different metal wire. We used 18-gauge round brass wire for our wire because we have a large spool of 18-gauge round brass wire and it is both a nice weight and color for our bracelet project.

Step 6

Make the clasp. We made a hook style clasp and used a "B" link as the "eye."

Step 7
Assemble the bracelet. Begin by attaching the clasp to a charm. Proceed by attaching a "B" link to connect each charm to the next until the chain of the bracelet is complete.

Step 8
Test the bracelet and adjust the clasp, if needed.

Related Tutorials
Make Your Own Hook & Eye Clasp
Make Your Own Clover Shaped Hook & Eye Clasp

How to Make Earrings from a Credit Card

How to Make a Bracelet from a Credit Card
How to Use a Disc Cutter