1.Place the H” × 2 H” piece of 18-gauge ster-
ling sheet silver onto a hard, flat surface.
(For this project, I used a regular ball peen
hammer purchased at a home improvement
store. There are many great jeweler’s ham-
mers available, but if you are just starting out
making jewelry, you may want to start with
this inexpensive version.) Use the round end
of the ball peen hammer to strike the surface
of the sheet silver multiple times, making a
uniform hammered texture. If you will be
making the bracelet and necklace projects,
you may want to texture all of the sterling
sheet silver pieces at the same time.
2.Decide on the shapes of the fish that you
want to use and draw the shapes with a
marker onto the H” × 2 H” piece of
18-gauge sterling sheet silver. You can free-
hand draw the fish shapes, or you can use a
design from a wide selection of available clip
art. You can make the fish shapes identical
or make them different from each other for
added interest. You may find that using a
simple shape will be easier the first time you
do this project.
3.Using a jeweler’s saw or tin snips, cut the fish
shapes from the H” × 2 H” 18-gauge ham-
mered sterling sheet silver. If you are using
tin snips and not a jeweler’s saw, you will
want to cut outside the marker line you drew
around the fish shapes. This will allow you
room to refine the edges with the file after
the fish shapes are cut out. In addition, if you
used tin snips, the pieces will not be flat after
you cut them. Place the fish shapes on a
hard, flat surface and use a rawhide mallet to
flatten them. If you do not have a rawhide
mallet, you can place the fish shapes on a
hard, flat surface, cover the pieces with a
thick piece of scrap leather, and gently tap
the leather covered fish shapes with a flat
hammer to flatten them.