I just finished my latest collage pin. I used an old black and white image of the Eiffel Tower and also a tiny image of a couple in love. The base is from an old French text book. It took awhile to cut the couple out. If you’re having trouble cutting out tiny images be sure to have a good sharp small pair of scissors, if they have cushion in the handle that helps alot. I use the Cutterbee brand, very comfy. Also try to keep your hand that holds the scissors still  and move the paper instead. With some practice this will help your cutting improve.

 See my previous post for tips on soldering:

http://www.pisforpaper.com/?p=16

This piece is currently for sale in my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13851466

Here’s a few more of my soldered jewelry pieces. These are done on 2×2 squares of cut glass instead of microscope slides. I use the same process of making a small piece of collage art, sandwiching it between the glass and then soldering around the edges. For more info see this earlier post of mine: http://www.pisforpaper.com/?p=16

This one is a fairy, I used an image of a girl and mounted wings behind her, it’s on an old book page, text is from an old book as well. I added a silver charm to dangle from the bottom on a jump ring.

Here’s a fairy Queen in her crown, I like the star charm at the botton, it’s made of stone:

I wanted to do a piece that had some humor to it, I think of her as an older lady on the stage trying to recapture her youth.

I LOVE Alice in Wonderland, it influences alot of my work, if even in just small subtle ways. This piece is actually stamped, the image of Alice is a rubber stamp I colored with pencils, the postage mark is stamped directly on the glass with Staz-On ink.

All of these pieces are currently for sale, $12 each. E-Mail me at: heavens_40517@yahoo.com if you’re interested in purchasing one.

A couple of years ago I really wanted to learn to solder my own jewelry pieces. I’d been seeing some beautiful pieces, mostly made with microscope slides, in books and magazines and wanted to make some myself. I hunted around and found the supplies at the hardware store and just started playing with them and taught myself how to solder. I’ve since upgraded to a nicer “gun”, better solder and supplies. I’m still not really good at it, it really takes alot of practice but it’s alot of fun and I love being able to wear my art!

I first make a collage that is 1″x3″, usually using an old book page for a base. I try to keep everything thin and the layers flat so it will sandwich nicely between the two glass pieces. I then clean the microscope slides and lay the collage in between and wrap copper tape around, being sure to make nice “hospital corners” on each corner. I then burnish the tape with a bone folder. One thing I’ve learned is that the better your tape looks the better the soldering will look in the end! I then flux and solder around all sides and edges, using lead free solder. Then I clean the piece and attach some type of jewelry finding. I love these little “pin bales” from Junkits, it makes it so you can wear it as a pin or a necklace but I’m having trouble finding them anymore and I’m worried they stopped making them.

Here’s one of my very first pieces using pages from an old Asian book, an image of a Geisha, with some wings added, a quote and a rubber stamp chop.

My Love Has Wing:

Here’s another using some scrapbook papers and old book pages. I cut a crown out for my Beauty Queen and added some glitter glue to have some sparkle.

Beauty Queen:

Here’s one where I added some beads and a charm on the end. I think this would be a sweet gift for a new bride.

The Wedding:

The last two pieces, The Beauty Queen and The Wedding are for sale, $12 each, contact me if you’re interested.