My 1st solder & glass ornament

Meet Darla. Darla is a wonder-woman!

She teaches creative classes at my local Michaels store, everything from cake decorating to scrapbooking to jewelry making. Today she kindly showed me how to make glass & solder ornaments. I've had most of the supplies for ages and have watched a few YouTube videos.... But It has been 25 years since I've picked up a soldering iron and I needed an extra push to get started.

 

Ready to rock & roll

This starter-kit from Bead Landing is great if you are new to soldering.

photo borrowed from Michaels website

Other than flux, this kit has all the basic supplies to make ornaments or pendants. The kit states that you don't need to use flux. I tried working both with & without today; it seemed like the solder went down smoother with. Darla said she purchased the flux paste for around $2 at Home Depot.

The glass pieces come with the kit. The craft knife and K&C Company papers did not. Eventually I'd love to try this with some original art. Today these brightly colored papers were perfect for experimenting!

The oval has only the copper tape. The square piece has solder on top of the tape. Not too ugly for my 1st try .... yet....

Oops now it gets ugly. I made a bit of a mess while attaching the handle.

Okay. More than a bit. I gobbed too much solder on my iron. It oozed under the wire and started dripping before hardening. On the plus side, I was able to scrape most of it off with the hot iron.

Then added a jump ring . I could add more solder or smooth what is there by reheating but decided to call it good enough for a 1st try. A bit of a polish and we have -

 Front

 

& Back

I am looking forward to making some more of these! Each year I like to come up with new ornaments for the Christmas tree. I think some festive mini collages would be a great way to practice my soldering. Maybe then I will be ready to make some jewelry using this fun technique.

Thanks for coming along for the ride! If you are looking to try your hand at a new activity, check out your local craft store. I bet they have something interesting going on. Then pop back here & share what you have made. I'd love to see your creations!

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Please note: Any comments left before 1 a.m. (EST) on 12/1/11 will enter you into my latest random drawing. Two lucky winners will take home a print of their choosing based on my art (found on this blog, my DeviantArt Gallery or the ArtSnark etsy shop).