I get asked all the time if I can make charms to fit the popular Pandora branded bracelets, the answer is YES I can!  Pandora do sell generic baby hand and footprint beads, but there is nothing quite like having your own child’s actual print on a bead that will fit your special charm bracelet.

There are two options for charm bracelets, beads and dangly bracelet charms.

The beads on my site are sized specifically with a 5mm internal diameter to fit onto a Pandora bracelet, however because they are handmade, if you have a different charm bracelet just let me know and I can make the bead to fit it!  Beads work best with hand and footprints abut I am happy to do fingerprints too, often you only get a part of the print though due to the size of the bead. Order yours here: https://www.lastingtouch.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=PNDbead

The other option is the charm bale, the options are pretty much endless with this as it can fit on to any charm. I have made all sorts of charms, including multiple print charms and charms of varying sizes. The hoop bale show in the photo below is available with any charm, simply select it on the ‘optional extras’ menu when choosing your charm.

As you can see there are options which suit single or multiple prints, so if you have more than one child but do not want lot of dangly charms on your bracelet, you can have up to 4 prints on one charm (Names or initials can go on the back). The charms are available in a number of shapes, or if you have something particular in mind let me know and I might be able to do you a custom piece.

If you don’t have a Pandora charm bracelet and would like me to supply something similar, please get in touch. I can offer a number of choices including sterling silver snake bracelets and quality leather bracelets and wrap bracelets.

Do you avoid wearing silver because you worry about it tarnishing or turning your skin green?
Let me tell you why that happens and why that won’t happen with my jewellery.

Did you know that sterling silver is actually only 92.5% silver?   The other 7.5% is another alloy, usually copper.    It is in fact this copper that reacts with the acid in your skin and turns it green.   Since we all have differing pH levels in our skin, some people find this happens more than others.  

So the easy way to avoid green skin is to avoid copper.
My jewellery is made from Fine Silver, this is the purest form of silver you can get at 99.9% silver (don’t ask me what the other 0.1% is, I’m afraid I don’t know).
Since it’s pure silver it also contains no Nickel, which is another metal found in sterling silver that commonly causes skin reactions and which is why people often think that they are allergic to silver. They are more likely to be to the nickel.

What about tarnish?
Tarnish is slightly different, all silver will tarnish over time.  Tarnish is caused by a reaction in the air, but it is increased by contact with products like soap and perfume.   Sterling silver tarnishes far more quickly than fine silver.

How to get rid of tarnish?
The simplest way it to avoid it in the first place, a low cost silver polishing cloth used regularly will keep your jewellery looking shiny and bright.  As fine silver is a soft metal, just be careful not to rub too hard at your detailed prints.

A little tarnish called a patina, is purposefully added to some of my pieces to bring out the detail in the prints. I do not recommend using salt baths or any method of cleaning that involve submerging your jewellery as you could end up removing this indented blackening of the silver.

If your charm has become heavily tarnished, this can usually be removed with some good quality silver polish.  I use Glanol, but there are other brands available that are just as good.

If you’d like your keepsake jewellery freshened up free of charge, just drop me a message and arrange to post it to me.  I will happily give it a clean and polish for you and if necessary reapply the patina to the prints.

Here’s how it works.

Simply draw a rough sketch of your perfect piece of jewellery on a piece of paper.  It doesn’t have to be a perfect work of art, a plain pencil drawing will do.

The chosen piece will be made from fine silver and can be any shape.  The finished piece may weigh no more than 7grams (a guide would be approx. 3x3cm)

It does not have to, but it can contain hand or footprints, fingerprints, handwriting or a line drawing.    As it’s half term next week why not get the kids involved with the design?

Once you have designed your piece, you can either scan or photograph it and send it to me at bespokejewellerycompetition@lastingtouch.co.uk or send it in the post to:

Lasting Touch
5 White Apron Street
South Kirkby
West Yorkshire
WF9 3LH

Please include your full name, address, contact number and email address.

The competition closes on Thursday 26th Feb at 8pm.   I will choose a winner and make contact by email on Friday 27th Feb.  The winner will have 7 days to make contact and finalise the details of their design.

Looking for inspiration?  Here’s some bespoke items I have made from simple drawings…