Julian is starting Kindergarten in the fall. It makes me sad — he’s my oldest and I’m used to him being around. So this summer, I’ve been doing my best to soak up all this uninterrupted time, taking special care to spend lots of one-on-one time with my firstborn. Last weekend, Julian and I had a a date at The Silver Diva.
Located just north of Downtown Montgomery, The Silver Diva is Cincinnati’s very own hand-stamping studio. Using letters, graphics and symbols, guests can create their own one-of-a-kind, hand-stamped jewelry — plus, key chains, bottle openers, ornaments, money clips and more! It’s definitely not just about jewelry at Silver Diva.
We booked a slot ahead of time, picking am open session in between parties. The Silver Diva does a lot of events (girls’ dates, bachelorette parties, mom meet-ups, fundraisers, Girl Scout outings, kids’ birthday parties — you name it!), so it’s recommended to call before you go.
This definitely worked to our advantage. We had the full attention of Melody, who was sweet and extremely helpful from start to finish. She did a fantastic job of immediately making us feel right at home, engaging Julian and assisting through every step of the process.
Julian chose to make a charm necklace for me. He got to select the font, imagery and charm for the necklace, and I could tell he felt important being in charge of his very own design.
Depending on the size of your jewelry and font choice, you can hand-stamp anything from names and important dates to favorite quotes. And when I say “hand-stamp,” I mean hand stamp. As in, by hand! You’ll get a special hammer and individual letters on long, metal “nails.” You also get unlimited practice time to hone your hammer skills — and a helper to help hold your child’s nails in place while they hammer away (Melody, you were the best!). She steadily positioned each nail as Julian carefully practiced stamping his name, letting him take breaks from hammering when his hand got tired.
After he’d gotten the hang of the hammer, it was time to stamp his pendant. Melody handed Julian his letters as he hammered away, one by one. He did a great job — and much to my relief, he didn’t miss the target once!
Next, it was time to color the metal pendant. Using a Sharpie, Julian colored in all the letters and his airplane image. Then Melody explained that the necklace would then go through a special “washing machine,” which Julian found fascinating. (All hand-stamped pieces go through a tumbling process to get them shiny and remove stray Sharpie.) Then, the pieces are finished by a Silver Diva designer, who add or any other finishing touches.
This process generally takes a few business days — then you can return for pick up, or have your item shipped. (One notable exception — if you book a children’s party, each child will leave the party with his/her finished piece!)
For younger kids (ages 6+), I’d recommend the following projects:
- Back to School: a key chain for your child’s backpack. You can even make two puzzle pieces that fit together — one for a parent and one for your kiddo.
- The Holidays: an ornament for the tree.
- Birthdays: a charm bracelet would be fun to personalize.
- Spring/Summer: a bubble fairy wand (you can really use it to blow bubbles!)
- New Baby: have the big brother/sister-to-be make matching necklaces to commemorate the occasion
With summer winding down and back-to-school season upon us, set aside an afternoon for a date with your kid at The Silver Diva. Your kids will make something unique you can keep forever — and, most importantly, memories you’ll both cherish.
The Silver Diva is located at 9797 Montgomery Rd., Ste. F, Montgomery, OH 45242. Hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (Closed Sundays.) For more information, call 513-873-4561 or visit the website.
