Category Archives: Soldering

Special Event: Love by Design – An Artful Charity Auction is Going On Now!

01 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Glitter, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Soldering, Vintage

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I’m reposting this because the Love by Design Artful Charity Auction has begun and runs now through Sunday, August 3. Head on over to see all the pretty art that’s available and start placing some bids! I’m sorry to let you know that after the post below was originally created, Donald Brorsen lost his battle with cancer and now more than ever this family needs all the help that they can get to deal with the overwhelming medical bills that they now face.

Thanks for stopping by, friends.

xo,

Christine Barker

ScarletCalliope Chalkboard Love by Design

 

My friend, Carrie Harney, has a heart of gold and recently reached out to her creative friends to ask for our help for an Art Auction that will begin on Facebook on August 1. She shared that her friend, Cheri Brorsen and her beautiful family, are experiencing one of life’s most crushing trials. Tragically, Cheri’s husband, Donald, is fighting a battle with cancer and Cheri and her four children are facing a rough road ahead. Some of you may already know that I lost my mom to Leukemia as a very young girl and my heart just hurts for this family who will be experiencing the loss of a husband, son, father and friend to so many.

 

ScarletCalliope family 1

Cheri and Donald Brorsen

ScarletCalliope family 2

 The Brorsen Children

 

Carrie asked if we could help her raise some money for her friend to help pay some of their medical bills.  Do you ever have those moments in life where you feel like something you do can really make a difference? This was the call to action for me and my creative mind finally turned on, after a brief hiatus, and I started thinking of things I could make for the auction.  A lot of my creative friends are involved and the items they have created are stunning! And, Terri Brush has even donated a spot in her amazing Art Camp!

Go to the Love By Design Auction Page and LIKE it NOW and check out some of the wonderful items that are going to be available. More handmade items will be added each day to give you a chance to see them and choose your favorites. The auction action begins on August 1 and you won’t want to miss it! Mark it on your calendar so you don’t forget!

 

SC Necklace 3

 

I created a mermaid-inspired pink and silver wire-wrapped bead necklace with a soldered pendant featuring a Swarovski Crystal bedecked sea star floating in a sea of pink. Dangling from the pendant is a gorgeous pink lamp work bead atop a sparkling tassel of chains, beads and pearls.

 

SC Necklace 1

Inside the miniature shadowbox pendant you can see a peek of silver German glass glitter. Above the pendant is a pink glass heart-shaped bead and some petite pearl beads and sparkling crystal rondelles.

 

SC Necklace 2

The necklace also features vintage pearl colored beads, more delicate glass beads, and silver accents.

 

SC Necklace 4

The pendant can be worn with the starfish facing out or the Life of the Sea side facing out, with its delicate sprinkling of silver German glass glitter.

 

ScarletCalliope Necklace 1

 

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Love by Design auction, beginning on August 1 and LIKE the Facebook page now so you don’t miss out on any of the details!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

xo,

Christine Barker

 

Special Event: Love by Design – An Artful Charity Auction

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Glitter, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Soldering, Vintage

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ScarletCalliope Chalkboard Love by Design

 

My friend, Carrie Harney, has a heart of gold and recently reached out to her creative friends to ask for our help for an Art Auction that will begin on Facebook on August 1. She shared that her friend, Cheri Brorsen and her beautiful family, are experiencing one of life’s most crushing trials. Tragically, Cheri’s husband, Donald, is fighting a battle with cancer and Cheri and her four children are facing a rough road ahead. Some of you may already know that I lost my mom to Leukemia as a very young girl and my heart just hurts for this family who will be experiencing the loss of a husband, son, father and friend to so many.

 

ScarletCalliope family 1

Cheri and Donald Brorsen

ScarletCalliope family 2

 The Brorsen Children

 

Carrie asked if we could help her raise some money for her friend to help pay some of their medical bills.  Do you ever have those moments in life where you feel like something you do can really make a difference? This was the call to action for me and my creative mind finally turned on, after a brief hiatus, and I started thinking of things I could make for the auction.  A lot of my creative friends are involved and the items they have created are stunning! And, Terri Brush has even donated a spot in her amazing Art Camp!

Go to the Love By Design Auction Page and LIKE it NOW and check out some of the wonderful items that are going to be available. More handmade items will be added each day to give you a chance to see them and choose your favorites. The auction action begins on August 1 and you won’t want to miss it! Mark it on your calendar so you don’t forget!

 

SC Necklace 3

 

I created a mermaid-inspired pink and silver wire-wrapped bead necklace with a soldered pendant featuring a Swarovski Crystal bedecked sea star floating in a sea of pink. Dangling from the pendant is a gorgeous pink lamp work bead atop a sparkling tassel of chains, beads and pearls.

 

SC Necklace 1

Inside the miniature shadowbox pendant you can see a peek of silver German glass glitter. Above the pendant is a pink glass heart-shaped bead and some petite pearl beads and sparkling crystal rondelles.

 

SC Necklace 2

The necklace also features vintage pearl colored beads, more delicate glass beads, and silver accents.

 

SC Necklace 4

The pendant can be worn with the starfish facing out or the Life of the Sea side facing out, with its delicate sprinkling of silver German glass glitter.

 

ScarletCalliope Necklace 1

 

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Love by Design auction, beginning on August 1 and LIKE the Facebook page now so you don’t miss out on any of the details!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

xo,

Christine Barker

 

Flea Market: My first booth at Behind the Picket Fence

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by in Art and Crafting, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Sewing, Soldering, Textiles, Vintage

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ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 18

 

It’s taken me years to feel brave enough to have my own booth at a flea market. I have a collection of things that I’ve been collecting for years, (plus a couple collections that I’m ready to call it quits with), all with the intention of selling them in my own personal boutique at a flea market. When I heard about the Behind the Picket Fence Marketplace, I just knew I had to give it a try. Well, first I thought about it and changed my mind a bunch of times, but in the end I made the leap and I’m so happy that I finally did it!

 

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 1

 

Thankfully I had a petit army of people to help me with my state of mind and artfully arranging my booth. Going into this event I was scared as could be, but knowing that my sweet husband and son would be there to help me set up and sell gave me some peace of mind. They were spectacular helpers, setting up the booth, doing the heavy lifting, greeting customers as they stopped by and handing out my business cards. Trevor even had a side business going selling some of the hundreds of burlap coffee bean bags that I had for sale. (If you want some, please just let me know! I have a few left!)

And I’m so thankful for my friend, Deb Kennedy, who’s an extraordinary Writer, Stylist, Designer and Speaker based out of Orange County, CA. When I put out the SOS for help to foof up my booth and give it some decorator savvy, she answered the call. I was petrified that I would set up the booth and it wouldn’t look like the picture that I had in my head. Deb came to the rescue and got right to work, rearranging items, placing them just right and using items in ways that I NEVER would have thought of. Plus, she took all of these beautiful photos!

 

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 14 ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 9 ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 7

Left to my own devices I would more than likely just put things out on the table but Deb knew just how to display things so that they would be shown to their best advantage. Like the vintage fruit picking sack, and the dress form, and the shabby chic tea pot with gloves.

 

 

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 13 ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 11 ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 10

I also had a selection of my handmade Union Flag aprons and pillows, burlap pillows, and fancy pincushions available for sale.

 

 

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 16

I created a variety of decor to give my booth my style so that people would know as soon as they saw it what I was all about. Several people asked if I would sell my fabric garland but I told them I’d have to charge them over $100 since it pretty much took me an entire day and too much fabric to create. I can’t sell it, it’s too pretty!

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 15

Burlap and rose decorations.

 

 

 

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 8

Petticoats on a parasol.

 

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 6

And, I hand painted a sign with my name to let people know who I was.

 

 

Scarlet Calliope Frame 2 Scarlet Calliope Frame 1 Scarlet Calliope Frame 3

And finally, I had a photo booth to take pics of some willing shoppers as they stopped by.

 

All in all it was a wonderful day!  I felt great because I finally conquered my fear of participating in a flea market, I cleared out some of my inventory and I got to spend the day with some wonderful people. It meant so much to me for people that I knew to stop by my booth because it was so nice to see familiar faces and when they gave me compliments about my booth I was over the moon! I think I’m ready for the next challenge now, I’ve got this!

ScarletCalliope Picket Fence 2

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I have some of these items and more listed in my Etsy shop if you are interested in purchasing them.

 

Also, this is my 125th post so I think that’s a reason to celebrate!  I’ll be giving away one of my pin cushions to one lucky person who likes this post and leaves a comment here on the blog. Who wants to win?

xo,

Christine Barker

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swap: Vintage Inspired Valentine Charms

15 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in Art and Crafting, Christmas and Holidays, DIY & Crafting, Jewelry, Lovebug Creations, Soldering, Swap, Vintage

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For the third Valentine swap that I joined, I hosted a charm swap with sixteen participants.

With thoughts of love, friendship, and heart shaped everything in our minds, the girls in my mixed-media swap ended up with a beautiful collection of 16 charms to adorn them or their homes. Since there are so many girls with so many talents in this group I left the materials open to interpretation. The only firm rule is that each charm had to contain metal as a design element, either soldered, or metal bezel, or wire wrapped or something to give a cohesive look with soldered charms.

The main colors were pinks, white, silver, creams, and hints of muted Valentine colors. The size could range from 1″ all the way up to 3″ and this collection gave us all a nice combination of sizes to be used as a garland, charm bracelet, necklace pendants or as ornaments for a Valentine tree.

ScarletCalliope Valentine Charms 1

Pretty packaging was optional but these girls came through with some gorgeous and daintily wrapped presents!

ScarletCalliope Valentine Charms 2

I went for a new technique using FIMO polymer clay and I’m so happy with the way they turned out. This was my first time using it this way and I’m going to be using this technique again in the future.

ScarletCalliope Valentine Charms 3

Creating your own embellishments gives the artist so many different options than just purchasing store bought embellishments!

ScarletCalliope Valentine Charms 4

Here are all of mine all lined up with different ribbons on them. I just loved looking at all of them together! And don’t they look gorgeous with all of the different colors of Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon?  You can find this beautiful and versatile ribbon in the Lovebug Creations online shop!

ScarletCalliope Valentine Charms 5

Here’s a detail shot so you can see the pretty swans. You probably know by now that swans are my latest infatuation. I found some adorable sterling silver heart head pins and added ballet pink pearls and a pink crystal onto them. I added some glass beads that reminded me of petite chandelier crystals and some tiny pearls.

Participants:

1. Michelle Duke
2. Carrie Reid Harney
3. Lonnie Jenck
4. Hope Habbe Ellington
5. Jeanine Stowe Weiss
6. Linda Vinson
7. Nicole Goodwin
8. Lori Stewart Dams
9. Pam Munns
10. Michelle Hurtt
11. Debbi Udall Wilcock
12. Carol Lucero
13. Ann Hammes
14. Rochelle Kretz Gaukel
15. Julie Gordon Weller
16. Christine Barker

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing all of the Valentine inspiration that I’ve been steeped in. It’s been really wonderful. Tomorrow I’ll show you what all of the charms look like and you can adore them just like I have been!

xo,

Christine Barker

Want to see my other Valentine Posts?

Blog Hop: Loves Me, Loves Me Knot

Sweet:  Pretty Jelly Jar with Lovebug Creations Ribbon

Swap: Queen of Hearts Valentine Swap

Swap: Precious Hearts Swap

Swap: Winter Wonderland Ornament Swap

05 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Art and Crafting, Christmas and Holidays, DIY & Crafting, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Soldering, Swap

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Winter Wonderland Ornament Swap

This year I’m hosting a swap for my friends who love to solder. I’m part of another Christmas swap and it closed before my friend, Pam Munns, could join, so we came up with some ideas for a swap for soldered ornaments with some of our friends we’ve met at the classes we’ve taken with Sally Jean Alexander. I’m so thrilled that not only did our Sally Jean friends join, but a coterie of other talented artists signed up to be in the swap as well!

It’s called Winter Wonderland and the guidelines are to create a soldered Christmas/Holiday ornament that is inspired by the beauty of winter. This leaves plenty of room for each artist to create an ornament inspired by their favorite part of winter and the Christmas holiday. I’m envisioning falling snowflakes, icicles on trees, adorable little woodland creatures hopping through the snow and all kinds of other gorgeous images.

I’m a big fan of vintage and shabby chic so I’m suggesting that all the artists create in a style that is somewhere between Antique Chic to Vintage Grandeur, with Antique Chic possibly being free spirited, lacey, made with linen, a little bit bohemian or a little bit primitive. Vintage Grandeur could be a little bit more dressy than Antique Chic, with chandelier crystals, rhinestones, and maybe a little bit of velvet or silk.

The color palette will consist of white, cream, silver and a hint of a muted winter color.

We have 20 talented ladies participating in this swap and I’ll be dividing us up into 2 groups so that we’ll make 10 ornaments each. The shape of the ornaments is wide open to whatever their hearts desire. There are so many shapes to choose from, like simple squares or circles, to house or dove shapes, vials and small perfume bottles and even stars or three dimensional shadow boxes or reliquaries.

The Ornaments are due to me by December 5 and then I’ll divide them up into the groups and mail them back out to all of the artists.

For inspiration I’ve been doing my research online and finding a lot of gorgeous soldered ornaments on Pinterest. I’ve created a board called Winter Wonderland to give myself some ideas about what shape I want and different colors and sizes.

Since it’s been so warm in Southern California it’s difficult to get in the mood for winter and Christmas so I found a great blog with pictures of beautiful shabby chic decorations to get me going.

Here are some of my artist friends in the Winter Wonderland Ornament Swap who have blogs, teach soldering or sell their soldered jewelry:

Rochelle Gaukel

I’m excited that Rochelle Gaukel, of Whatever Lola Wants Lola Gets, will be joining us. As I was going through Pinterest I saw several of her beautiful pieces pinned to other people’s boards.

Lonnie Jenck

Lonnie Jenck is a sweetheart whom I met at Kim Caldwell’s glorious creative events. Lonnie teaches classes and is a wonderful artist.

Lori Dams

Also joining us is the fabulous Lori Dams, who creates amazing jewelry! If you get to meet her, ask her about Hugh Jackson! And recycling! LOL

Alanna George

Alanna George is an artist I’ve never met in person but I feel lucky that I got to know her through the 12 Days of Christmas Ornament Swap that she hosted. She is a super versatile artist with talents in so many areas!

Hope Ellington

We also have Hope Ellington, an inspirational artist whom I’ve never met but we were in Alanna’s ornament swap together. It’s fun to meet new artists through swaps and get to know them via Facebook.

Christine Barker Scarlet Calliope

And I’ve volunteered to teach my friends, Julie and Jeanine, how to solder. I hope I’m able to give them the instruction and encouragement to create some beautiful ornaments!

I’m counting down the days until I get to see all of these beautiful ornaments start arriving at my house. In the meantime, I’m brainstorming ideas so I can create some delightful ornaments that will grace the trees of my talented friends!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

xo,

Christine Barker

Craft Fair: Psssst, I’m a craft fair virgin!

01 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by in Christmas and Holidays, DIY & Crafting, Field Trip, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Papercrafting, Sewing, Soldering

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Holiday Craft & Vendor Fair

Yes, it’s true. I’ve never, ever sold my handmade wares at a craft fair and it’s finally time for me to be brave and get myself out there.  I’ll be setting up on November 16 for the Holiday Craft and Vendor Fair at the Charity Wings Art Center in San Marcos, CA to benefit Mountain Shadows Outreach Services and the Active Learning Center for Autism.

Mountain Shadows Outreach Services

I’ll be bringing my soldered jewelry pieces, some Christmas stocking stuffers, some of my Union Flag aprons and some vintage surprises.

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There will be 3 beautiful arts and craft projects to create that are perfect for all ages and levels. Each project will be a perfect handmade gift to give for the holiday season.

Plus, there will be a silent auction, door prizes, amazing vendors, food, entertainment, and spa services. Come on out for a great time and get creative while supporting a worthy cause!!!

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For more details visit the Charity Wings Art Center.

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When: Saturday, November 16th from 11-4

Where:  Charity Wings Art Center, 287 Industrial Street,  San Marcos, CA 92078

Presale Tickets are just $7, that’s a $3 savings off the day of event tickets.

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~CRAFTING ~ FOOD ~ HOLIDAY SHOPPING ~ MUSIC ~ MAGIC AND MORE ~

Soldering: Ribbon Tassel Tutorial featuring Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Art and Crafting, Jewelry, Soldering

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Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 1

Ever since I learned how to solder from Sally Jean Alexander, I’ve experienced a world of whimsical ideas revolving around hot metal.

I’d like to share with you how to make a soldered tassel using Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon. Even if you don’t solder, the first couple of steps can be used to make a tassel and I’ll explain how to finish it.

Tassel Making Supplies

  • Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbon
  • Wire – 28 gauge works well for this
  • Jump ring
  • Lineman Pliers
  • Copper Foil Tape
  • Soldering Iron and your soldering supplies
  • Solder – If the tassel will be used for jewelry, use a lead-free solder
  • Lobster claw jewelry clasp

Ready? Begin.

I pledge allegiance, to the crafting gods….

Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 2

1. Gather your favorite Lovebug Creations Rumple Ribbons together and cut them twice as long as you want your tassel to be.

Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 3

2. Cut another piece of ribbon about half as long as the others and tuck it underneath the first group, in a perpendicular fashion. (I like big words and I cannot lie!)

Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 4

3. Tie a simple overhand knot.*  After I tied the first knot, I took both ends around to the other side and did another overhand knot so that it would hold firmly and the knot wouldn’t show on the outside.

*  Even though I was on the sailing team in high school, that doesn’t necessarily mean I was paying attention to how to tie knots. If you were goofing off like me, and don’t know an overhand knot from a granny knot, check out this knot reference.

Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 5

4. Are you ready to play with wire?  Take a piece of wire, about 4 inches long, and bend it in half. Add a jump ring to the wire and allow it to fall to the middle/crimped part. Hold the crimp and jump ring in your hand near the “head” of the tassel and begin wrapping the wire around the ribbon about a half inch from the top of the tassel “head”. Keep wrapping until you run out of wire. Use your pliers to flatten the wire against the ribbon, you don’t want it sticking out in the next step.

Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 6

5. Soldered: Now you’re ready to begin wrapping the tassel with Copper Foil Tape. Begin by covering the wire. Once you have that covered, add a piece of tape to cover the very top part. The tape needs to go from one side of the tassel to the other. Then, wrap another piece of tape over any exposed ribbon on the “head” of the tassel. Now you’re ready to solder. Hold the tassel either in a pair of pliers or in a towel so that your fingers are protected from hot solder and your soldering iron! Solder away!

Not Soldered: If you are not going to solder, you can cover the wire with a piece of ribbon. Cut a piece that is slightly larger than what you need to go all the way around twice. Use a small dot of glue from your hot glue gun to hold the end of the ribbon in place. You can alternatively use a drop of Fast Grab Tacky Glue and hold it until it stays in place by itself. If you’re using hot glue, please do not hold it in place with your fingers! I’ve seen products out there to protect your fingers, but I just use the eraser end of a pencil to hold things in place until the hot glue cools.

Scarlet Calliope Tassel Tutorial 1

6. Attach a lobster claw jewelry clasp to your jumpring. Now you can attach it to the bottom of a pendant, or anything else that needs a pretty tassel!

Pretty Little Things by Sally Jean Alexander

If you have questions about how to solder, check out Sally Jean Alexander’s online “Soldering for Virgins” class or her book, Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets and Keepsakes. Sally Jean is the original artist who started the soldered jewelry trend so if you want to learn, have fun and make beautiful, artistically-inspired soldered jewelry and projects, you’ll want to learn from the best!

Thank you for visiting today and please let me know what you think about this tutorial in the comments!

xo,

Christine Barker