Obsessed with Solder... and Procrastination at it's Best!

the act of soldering is quite mediative. turn on the crockpot to warm the pickle solution. set up the firing brick. turn on the exhaust fan. cut the metal, apply the solder paste. place on the brick. fire up the butane torch, adjust the flame. apply heat, watch the metal and solder heat up and flow together... then, just at the right moment... quench and throw in the pickle solution. i think i'm becoming obsessed with the way that the solder flows into the metal, and the forms that are created - even with a simple ring! i love how the solder polishes up to a high shine just like the rest of the ring when i throw it in the tumbler - it really lends a handmade, organic quality to it! i'm definitely not making a "perfect" ring, but they way these turn out, is perfect to me! they still turn out as comfortable to wear as if i had sanded them for hours, and have a lovely, rustic look to them!

i'm also working on my bezel settings... not the easiest thing in the world to master, but the "Starry Starry Night" ring above didn't turn out too badly. i did add some adhesive to the underside of the cabochon to add some security, but i wore it to work on Thursday and it survived the whole day! i'm quite thrilled at how this one turned out!

obviously i am too busy playing with fire to get all of my documents ready so that i can get my taxes done... we DEFINITELY need the money before the baby comes, but it's too much fun playing in the meth lab! i am also pretty certain that i owe some GST money to the Government... geez. this is what i get for not setting up my business paperwork ahead of time! i have vowed to pop in a Grey's Anatomy DVD and take the grocery bags full of receipts and forms to sort through tonight. sigh! the joys of owning a small business, working full time, and not being organized! i DID clean out the fridge (no, not by eating) and realized that we had a lot more condiments than actual FOOD! who does that?

fyi - if anyone is looking for something etsy to do, the TradeAHolics' team is having a Trade and Stay event starting tomorrow! check out the team blog here: http://etsytradeaholics.blogspot.com/ and join us! i'm probably not going to trade this time around - i'm trying to get my shop stocked up before the mini-muffin comes - but it's ALWAYS a blast.