A work in progress

So October was a really long and tiring month. First my kids had the flu, then I had it, then I had to get through 6 birthdays; two of which were hosted by me for two of my 3 boys! Needless to say all of this led to my "ahteesty-ness" falling to the wayside. Finally, between my hubby's generous donation of his entire CD collection (put up to auction on eBay) and the little bits of money I managed to save, we scraped together enough to finally buy me the torch kit I'd been dying to get since my soldering classes this summer.


I bought a Gentec small torch kit that runs on oxygen and MAPP gas. At first I thought I was doomed to never make a thing, I got lost trying to find the shop where I was supposed to pick up the torch I ordered (like an hour driving around the same block lost!), then the first oxygen tank I picked up from the welding supply place had a leak (they made me swap my new tank for a pre-filled one). Then, the first piece I soldered just wouldn't solder no matter what I did! It ended up scorched, blobby and resembling crumpled tin foil much more so than a sterling silver bezel setting. I cried and was ready to give up. "You would think I hadn't learned how to do this before, what am I missing?!" I showed the piece to my husband and his reply was simply "ouch".


The next day was Halloween so I put the torch away and decided I'd think on it over the weekend and just spend time reading every tutorial I could come across on the subject. I read up on flame types (neutral, carburizing, oxidizing, who knew there was this much to a simple flame?!) I read up on soldering techniques- heat the piece over a gap so that air can circulate and it doesn't get too hot before the solder liquefies. I read polishing techniques, I watched YouTube videos, I shopped at Home Depot for some 220, 400 and 600 grit sand paper to polish with.


Armed with my fresh knowledge, I decided I was ready to wield the torch for a second time. I took my time, got the flame just right and in a couple of minutes I had my first piece successfully soldered together! I soldered a second piece in the same manner and that, too was successful! Phew, I didn't waste all this time and materials for nothing!


While I am not completely finished with these pieces yet, they are a far cry from the burnt toast piece I originally made. The first is a setting for sea glass. I have purposely left a large free form backing because I will be drilling holes and attaching jump rings; it will be the focal on a sterling silver Viking Knit bracelet made by my friend, Paula. The triangle shaped piece has not been filed, sanded or polished yet; this photo is right after I removed it from the pickle. It is for a piece of Blue Willow China I found on the beach this summer. I think I will make a pendant out of it.


So while I am not yet the ahteest I dream of becoming, I am at the very least, taking baby steps to get there. Much like my jewelry, I am a work in progress.

The holidays are coming! Part 2

Birdbath Mosaic
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

My poor, dear Maggie has been holding this blog together for us all month. As I struggle with eBay and website and got 2 of my 3 boys into school (jr high and preschool, a first for both!) I often found myself superbly overwhelmed this September. And so, on the final day of the month, I impress myself with the fact that I have actually gotten some of my holiday goals well underway.

I am about 65% finished with my first birdbath; not the 3 I had planned to be working on, but one successful birdbath is a good start to a 100% new project. I've also learned throughout this process some good and some not so good ways of working with stained glass, concrete and mosaics in general:

- mix concrete for small projects in small batches.
- Press hard with your glass cutting tool, it won't shatter your glass, but a weak score line will cause your glass to not break away cleanly.
- set your design on fiberglass mesh (either self stick or use a glue like Weldbond). Not doing this means you essentially have to lay your pattern twice. (Learned that one the hard way!)
- Start your project with plenty of time before your "due date". Unless you do this for a living and can easily carve out time in your day to work on it, be ready for life to get in the way!
- Don't be afraid to try! At the start of this project, I had never mixed so much as one cup of conrete before muchless used a mold to create a birdbath. I had never touched a sheet of stained glass nor used a glass cutter or tile nippers, both of which have proven to be very cool tools to play around with!
- Aim for fun and cool, not perfection and professional and you'll likely find that your project turns out to be much better than you ever thought you could do on your first attempt!

I'll post some photos of my other holiday crafts soon!

Welcome to the Dungeon

Welcome to the Dungeon
Originally uploaded by mornindew2822

This horrifying mess is my "shell room". This is where I keep 95% of the stock for my eBay store and website. It is a pit of despair and this is day one, photo one of it's remodel. It will become my design studio as I move away from seashells and more into jewelry.

In the vein of organization, today I started a photo journal of my progress as I transform the space. Tonight when the kids go to bed, I am going tackle clearing a reasonable path for the plumber to gain access to a crawlspace so he can fix our outdoor water spigot. We'll see how that goes.

Maggie keeps telling me to take little bites...