I've had SO MUCH FUN and a little frustration with this new pendant. My second foray into soldering and resin~~ This piece was inspired by Stephanie Lee, the amazing found object jewelry maker and author.
I started out by cutting copper pipe to 1/4 inch thick. And sliced my hand a bit. Not bad, just enough to annoy you because the bandage gets in your way. Warning: if you use a pipe cutter, be careful! Sharp metal can cut (duh). After bandaging, I cut and stamped a piece of copper sheet.
Then I played with solder. The first picture is another solder explosion. I used a soldering gun first. Didn't work well and the join wasn't stable. When I was cleaning it it fell apart~~heartbreak! And that just fired my determination to fire up my little butane torch. Which worked better, until I ran out of butane. LOL!
Then cleaning, painting the join, antiquing and Krylon-coating the metal. Oh, I punched some holes sometime too.
Next came trying to figure out what I wanted to put into my pendant. I tried little pieces of metal, little charms in my "odds & ends" drawer. I found this copy of an old pic of my Polish Grandma, and it all started to come together after that.
As soon as this cures completely I'm going to wear it and see how it lays, wears, works. And I'm going to hang it on hand-dyed silk ribbon~~ooo la la! As soon as I find some, that is. :-)
God is so good. It's been lovely making this and then running to clean the bathroom, do the laundry and vacuum. A wonderful weekend of productivity! My friend Kristy from Wisconsin is visiting this afternoon after church service. Thank you Lord! I'm so richly blessed.
May you feel richly blessed too. Or if you don't, may you feel the Holy Spirit comforting your heart and holding you close. I love you all!
4 comments:
Yay! I love this pendant! It's perfect. What a neat idea to use copper pipe that way. I use 3/4" copper pipe split open to make my cuff bracelets. I think you're using to much solder on your joints. (But it looks kinda cool that way!) I did that, too. I think it's something everybody does at first.A tiny little piece will go a long way! I went to Art Jewelry Magazines website and to Ganoskin for instructions on soldering. I still have trouble with it though. I wish I knew someone local to show me in person. I guess I'll just keep practicing. Keep up the great work!
I really like this even though it was an injurious escapade for you!!!
Soldering does take lots of practice...but it is so much fun!
I just love your jewelry! And thank you for your sweet prayers for my friend, Pam!
Wow, Chris....you are stepping out there aren't you? Cutting the pipe like Stephanie did? I am giving you a 10! =)
Post a Comment