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Post by caeterle on Oct 17, 2023 8:15:21 GMT -6
Thank you so much, Michelle! The little pumpkin will be travelling to the US soon  |
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Post by DawninCal on Oct 17, 2023 13:09:58 GMT -6
How awesome is that!? Congrats, Cat!  Dawn |
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Post by caeterle on Oct 17, 2023 15:01:03 GMT -6
Thank you! It was a nice surprise for sure. Not the first challenge piece that sold quickly although it doesn't always work  |
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Post by DawninCal on Oct 18, 2023 12:10:54 GMT -6
Makes doing the challenges worthwhile too! Dawn |
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Post by DawninCal on Oct 18, 2023 15:10:44 GMT -6
Hey, I finished mine and not terribly late either! I've had these corn beads for years, and despite many tries, have never been able to come up with a design I liked. Part of the problem is that the holes are drilled through the sides and fairly far down the bead which made it difficult to figure out a way to attach them to anything. I think I finally hit on something that works. I chose to use the corn beads because they reminded me of the Indian corn that is associated with the Fall harvest season. The other reason I wanted to use them is because they have always challenged me and it was high time I was up to the challenge. To make the component I used to hang the beads, I twisted two strands of 24g copper wire, covered it with silver colored solder and then cut into two straight bars and two curved pieces. Those were then soldered together at one end, and at that point, I used a chemical I have to give them a copper color. I haven't had much success with that chemical, finding that it tends to turn my metal gray, but this time I made sure the metal was thoroughly cleaned and all traces of flux removed. That seemed to do the trick and the metal turned copper color. Yay, success at last! I then buffed the metal with steel wood, added the beads and soldered the other end shut. The last thing I did was to add solder balls on both ends of the bars and then assembled them into earrings. I am so happy to have those beads which have continually mocked me out of my stash!  Dawn |
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Post by caeterle on Oct 18, 2023 22:27:43 GMT -6
You are so clever, Dawn, and the earrings are so cute! Well done, indeed!
They look perfect.
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Post by DawninCal on Oct 19, 2023 13:05:04 GMT -6
Awww, thank you, Cat! I'm so glad to have finally figured out a way to use those beads! Dawn |
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