Jenuine Jewels: AAAACKKK! The solder!

Well, I said I was going to do it (to myself anyway) but that counts still. Teach myself to solder. What did you think? LOL! I had been capped out on my jewelry making for quite some time now. Years really. SO? It takes me a while to do things sometimes??? I get to it eventually! Anyway, today was the day and it was a loooooong one! LOL! I had never soldered so that was a huge learning curve. You know that crazy solder just does the weirdest stuff? It like curls up into these little circles and then just melts and then it won't melt and I kept checking to see if the damn thing was still on and then it just melts all over - stuff you don't want it to... it's a *medium* I'd not seen in person - like something in a sci-fi movie. It's like a blob! LOL! It was for sure a trial and error. I got the hang of it eventually - kind of! Working the metal - that was the easy part. I had visions of the curves I would eventually create when I got here in my head forever ago! I just worked with some plated silver with a copper core to start (didn't want to waste sterling on a first try, just in case...) but I love the look actually. I'm not into super *shiny*, so I love the rustic feel it ended up having. I soaked it in some LOS (liver of sulphur - this oxidizes metal) then polished to a semi-shine. I still want to add a hint of sparkle with some beads - too tired and OVA it all at the moment but I'll post more pics tomorrow! In the end I came up with my very own fabricated bracelet! YAY! I'm like the OCC! Love those choppers....

From blog shots

Also figured you might be curious where I do all of this so I'm putting up some pics of my art room too. It's just a half-finished little spot in my basement that I carved out for myself and it's been so fun to have my very own space! I painted the brick walls, the cement floor and I have big old doors propped up that I use for desks and working areas. It's no big shakes but it is to me!