Soldering: I used to do stained glass and made a few things with copper tubing and brass channel framing. I found the materials more difficult to work with than the normal soldering on the copper foil tape that is used to connect the glass pieces. The copper tubing and brass channel framing are thick and require quite a lot of heat applied to them before you can melt the solder. If they're not sizzling hot,the solder melts, puddles up and rolls off.

{1}The metal MUST be truly clean. Any oxidization, finger oil, or dirt on the surface will prevent the solder from adhering. If the metal has been exposed to air for any length of time and has dulled, it is oxidized and needs to be polished with steel wool before you solder.
{2}When using a liquid flux,use a BRUSH, do not dip the soldering iron into the flux, which is a major toxin hazard.
{3}Remember that soldering is dangerous and please work only with adequate ventilation.
{4}Never keep food or beverages near your soldering station.
{5}Always wear safety equipment, especially on your hands and eyes.

Chrissy

CLOSE UP PHOTOGRAPHY: READ THIS ONLY IF YOU WANT TO SAVE SOME MONEY. READ THIS ONLY IF YOU WANT CLOSE UP PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOUR WORK. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE MONEY TO SPARE. If you got this far you are interested. I have found that I can take photos as close as 2" from my subject using my "el cheapo" Olympus digital camera. All that is needed is; The camera. A good hefty rubber band. At lease one magnifying glass. A few of varying magnifications may come in handy. Not required but will save some time is the soft ware that allows you to control the camera from the PC as my Olympus software does. The advantage of this is that it displays what the camera sees about every 15 seconds so you can tell if you have a shot you want or not.

PROCEDURE:
Slip the rubber band over the camera so that it will hold the magnifying glass over the lens of the camera. This permits you to have both hands free. Move the camera (with the magnifying glass over the lens) either in closer or move the camera away from the object until you have the composed shot that you want. This will be displayed on the monitor of the PC. My Olympus soft ware permits me to zoom in or out on the photo taken. The zoom in feature increases the magnification without losing the clarity of the shot. That is all that is involved. You can "fool" around with varying magnifying lenses and take it from here. Sure beats buying close-up lenses for that expensive film camera. Let me know how things work out and if you need any further assistance. If SS permitted photos I would include them. Just take my word for it. The chances are you can download the cameras soft ware for nothing from the web site of the camera manufacturer.

DrBob

Fimo cleanup: To clean your pasta machine, go to www.polymerclaycentral.com in the lesson and instructions list they actually have a lesson on cleaning your pasta machine. If you are mixing a lot of clay have you thought of using a food processor, I have a small one and it's fantastic. No more sore and aching hands and no more spending hours mixing, kneading and pummeling!

Jacquie Hall

FIMO Clean Up: I have one machine for Pasta and one for FIMO. When I'm done using the pasta machine, I run old slices of bread thru it and it cleans quite well. Haven't tried it with the FIMO machine, but I would think the same thing would work. The same trick works in a meat grinder.

Ruth

Cleaning Pasta Machine: There is instructions for cleaning the pasta machines at http://www.desiredcreations.com/howTo_PQueenAtlasMaint.htm very easy to follow.

Oleta

Beads/Findings: Beth & I located a source for jewelry components that you might find interesting, Rio Grande. They can be found at http://www.riogrande.com if you like to use beads or findings or semi-precious stones; this is the place.

Brian

Scene Inside a Basketball: My friend's son did a scene inside of a soccer ball. There was a picture of a scene inside a basketball in a Nutshell News several years ago. My friend called the lady who did it to see what her procedure was. She ended up coating the inside of the basketball with plaster of Paris to hold the shape.

Carolyn in MI

Basketball: Maybe the basketball could be cut deflated and made to hold its form with papier-mache, it would be heavier than stiffeners could hold up I would think, basketballs are pretty thick material, leather or plastic, perhaps straight craft glue would hold it up.

Teresa from Canada

Marbleizing: I use a base coat of matte acrylic paint in the desired color. After it dries I use a very fine-pored sponge and dab on bits and streaks of lighter and darker shades of the same color. A small feather works for applying veining in the color of your choice, usually a darker shade than the other colors. Experiment on samples and when you have the effect you want, let the paint dry well and then spray with clear sealer or apply a liquid gloss acrylic such as Mod Podge to give the piece a polished-marble shine.

Susan at the White Rabbit's House

FAUX CRACKLE...

Step 1: Paint base coat on surface in an earth tone.....grey, green, brown, dark red....your choice, in a semi-gloss acrylic. Let dry. You can use a hair dryer if you like.

Step 2: Paint on even layer of Hide Glue (dilute with water to paint consistency) over entire surface, cross hatching as you go....meaning; paint over surface in both directions. Hide Glue is available at a good hardware store, furniture restorers use it for lacquer work. ) Let dry, very important! ok to use hairdryer.

Step 3: Now the magic! paint over entire surface with latex paint.... in a light color, such as white or cream....you can use small roller for best results.....now watch! craaaaaackle! let dry overnight.

Step 4: polyurethane or spray varnish to seal. You can test entire process on piece of foam core first, experimenting with different colors write your "recipes" on the back.

Sde Forest