Hi Sweeties...
Well, here I am as promised, back to tell you about my
weekend of soldering. I was so inspired having seen all the absolutely
gorgeous pieces of handmade jewelry on Pinterest.
But let me tell you a little secret....
it's NOT as easy as it looks! LOL
Well, here I am as promised, back to tell you about my
weekend of soldering. I was so inspired having seen all the absolutely
gorgeous pieces of handmade jewelry on Pinterest.
But let me tell you a little secret....
it's NOT as easy as it looks! LOL
I must say, this is not my first attempt at trying to conquer my fear
of soldering, it's my 2nd. My 1st try was a complete failure & you can
check that sad experience out HERE!
Let's just say, I BURNED shit!
of soldering, it's my 2nd. My 1st try was a complete failure & you can
check that sad experience out HERE!
Let's just say, I BURNED shit!
So, the good news is...I love to copper wrap!
Instant gratification, just like wrapping a beautiful present...
it's easy & tidy & neat, me likey. ;)
{don't ya just LOVE the face of my grumpy little girl}
But then comes the hard part, the SOLDERING...arggggggghhhh.
My problem is, I want it to be perfect & as far as I can glean,
there is no perfection in soldering, or at least not in MY soldering.
My problem is, I want it to be perfect & as far as I can glean,
there is no perfection in soldering, or at least not in MY soldering.
In the pictures above, I bought the glass soldered charm on the left
& my soldered charm is on the right. When comparing, I see that even the purchased
glass charm has solder dripping on the edges on both sides & I bought it & loved it.
But I need mine to be smooth, which comes from the anal, OCD part of me.
Another problem I have, is that the flux always gets under the glass
leaving a wet mark on my antique, 1855 French paper.
Like I said before....arghhhhhhhhh!
By Sunday evening, this is exactly what my face looked like. lol
But through it all, the trials & tribulations, I did manage
to create this one little perfect gem.
And look...the flux didn't even get under the glass this time.
Yippppeeeee.....
To reward myself for suffering through a weekend of soldering,
I also worked on some yummy little vintage coin purses
that will be made into long necklaces.
I still have a few, treasured metal jewelry pieces left from my
Round Top, Texas trip last spring & they make perfect little frames
for a Tintype photograph.
I ADORE Tintypes...
you can see & feel the history they share with us.
Sooooo....short story long, I can solder, but it SUCKS!!!
I know I will get better in time & I know practice makes perfect,
but for right now...
I will try & find the beauty in imperfection.
And keep in mind,
I haven't even TALKED about jump rings...arrrrgggghhhhhh. ;)
XOXO
vintagesusie
15 comments:
I love this post and to me, your soldering is fine. I got one for Christmas and I'm terrified to even try it.
I'm going to have to buck it up and take it out now. You've inspired me.
I don't think your pieces are bad at all. I feel for you though as I want to learn soldering myself and haven't yet tried it. Thanks for the inspiration and ideas I might try soon.
I really do love your pieces and I love the imperfections that go along with them.
we should get together!...i can't stand to do the copper wrapping, BUT I love to solder! I'm like you, I like to have it perfect, even though maybe the imperfect stuff has more charm and character!?
Those little purses are awesome!
New follower...love your site,
Maggie
www.themagrag.com
I think they are great! I love the rhinestone one and you pick out the best photos to use. jump rings are tricky, I do mine all at one time and sometimes by the time I'm finished I like the last two or three! Good thing it's so fun to do cuz practice makes perfect!
Great job!
t.xoxoxo
p.s. love the little coin purses too!
Your soldering pieces are nice. I love the one embellished with rhinestones and your coin purses are beautiful! I hope you let us know when you have these pieces for sale.
Danielle
i bought all the materials fro a project like this but haven't gotten around to doing it (i must have had an inkling that it wasn't that easy). although i must say you are doing pretty well and your pieces look great. yes, i do agree practice makes perfect. the japanese have a word for beauty in imperfection. it is called wabi-sabi. thanks for sharing!
hugs,
peggy aplSEEDS
I feel your pain. Five years ago I made 120 soldered name tags for the weddings at my table and got really good at it.
I decided to do some last week and found I couldn't do it at all! I've really lost the knack!
This is why I surround myself with artist (like you). I know if they won't let me play with scissors here at the home...they sure as heck ain't gonna give me a soldering gun!
I just read a post at Maynard's Greenhouse and she was talking about imperfections. Makes me wonder if God is trying to tell me something.
I dunno girl. They look pretty fab to these ol' eyes!
Deb
the beauty of wabi sabi! you are right, practice will help you with the flux under the glass... i love that grumpy girl! and your piece is great... don't be so hard on yourself... remember, you create things yourself because you don't want it to look like it came from a machine!
You are totally cracking me up!! I used to sell soldered charms but after months of breathing in the solder smoke stuff I decided I should probably take a really long break ~ I noticed I would get headaches even wearing a mask ~
I love yours and love the coin purses!
Okay you scare me. I just signed up for a class to happen in two weeks. We are supposed to make 6 pieces of jewelry. Yikes. Also sounds scary about the smoke causing headaches as I have too many of those already.
BUT, I like the things that you made and had a hard time telling yours form the other.
YOU & I have had this dicussion!!!! PRACTICE!!! That is what makes good soldering. And it is so funny you did this post. Sandy & I are putting together a purse necklace class to be taught out here & we are doing faux tin types on vintage coin purses for the necklace. JUST shows that there is so much inspiration out there & nothing is totally new (Ive seen tons of them on {Pinterest too) but, I LOVE the ones you've shown here. Don't be so hard on yourself about your soldering. Remember it's hand made not made in China! HUGS!
Charlene
I so empathized with your frustration! I too am OCD and it seems like all the charms on Pinterest look perfect. I took a soldering class in Oct. I made three acceptable charms and was so pleased. Bought my own stuff and everything I've made is horrible! I can't make one without the flux getting under the glass. I've tried every kind of flux and bought three different irons. What are we doing wrong?---Barbara
Your stuff looks great! I have never tried but want too. ;)
You've cracked me up, thanks for the Honesty & transparency of being Real about the Soldering experience. I've been wanting to learn to solder but I suspected it might be more difficult than I imagined. I'm going to give it a try this Spring and attempt to Create an Altered Art Bottle. The Man and I have been collecting old bottles laying about in the Desert for years and I've been jonesin' to Create something beautiful out of them. So, hopefully I won't burn something and torch the classroom?!? *Winks* The Man was worried about me having Fire so I assured him the tool they use just melts stuff... *LOL*
Adoring those Coin Purses...
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian
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