So, what do you think? I finally got around to trying my hand at a stamped, soldered piece in the middle of the night last night! I had worked in stained glass before, so soldering wasn't new to me. But it's been a couple of years since I've touched my soldering iron. I found that, as with any skill, you lose it if you don't use it. (So I need more practice time, right? ;-D)
At CHA last summer we visited a booth called Simply Swank and just loved the pieces there--glass, paper, metal, embellishments--what's not to love? This year I had a few minutes to stop back by, along with Sharon Harnist and Ellen Hutson, who had decided to carry the Simply Swank products in her store. I felt like a kid in a candy shop--"How about this? Are you getting this? I think you NEED this! And isn't this pretty?" (Suffice to say that I was not a moderating influence.)
Ellen now has her soldering merchandise in, just in time for her sale on Monday. And if you have questions about exactly what soldering is, you should click here for the tutorial that just came out in Ellen's last newsletter. If you already know how to solder, you may have lead solder; you don't want to use lead solder on something that will be in contact with your body. The solder that Ellen carries is lead-free, containing tin, copper, and silver--safe for a decorative application. It also has a little higher melting point from traditional lead-solder. I opted to get a new pink soldering iron since my other soldering iron doesn't have a rheostat for temperature control. (I wonder if my husband will borrow this one to work on our water pipes?)
The little piece above is only 3/4" in diameter. I had room inside to sandwich one of the Lockhart Itty-Bittys, the top part of the Vase, inside. I stamped it in Adirondack Pitch Black and colored it with my Copic Markers. It's not perfect, but I thought I'd share my first piece anyway. I can see in the large photo that I need to clean some black residue off of the glass still, and I wish I had added a little decorative piece at the bottom. That's okay--I'll play with a decorative piece next time! If you haven't seen it already, Cindy Lyles posted a soldered teapot bookmark yesterday, and it's lovely. (Cindy can do anything!) If you're new at soldering, I would suggest that you might want to start with a square or a rectangular shape instead of a circle, since liquid solder always runs to the lowest point. It's a bit simpler to control on a straight shape than on a curved one. Also, don't forget to wear safety glasses. (I'm hearing my husband quote Norm from the New Yankee Workshop: "Let's take a moment to talk about shop safety. . .") If you try a soldered piece, I would *love* to see what you come up with--send me a link or leave one on the comments!
I'll be back later tonight with the PaperTrey new releases. Have a great evening!
