Going to Bead Fest Texas!

Hey gang, is anybody out there going to Bead Fest Texas next week?

I'm combining a business trip to California with a stop-off in Austin to see my lovely daughter for a couple of days, then a weekend in Arlington to attend Bead Fest.

I've never been to one of these shindigs before. There is one in Philly every year, which is much closer to where I live, but for the past several years I've had schedule conflicts. I'm determined to go to the big Kahuna (the Bead & Button Show ) in Milwaukee someday, but I think our summer vacation plans will interfere with this year's show, so that will stay on my bucket list for now.

In Texas, I'm scheduled to take an all-day workshop on metalworking with the fabulous Lexi Erickson. (Maybe I'll learn enough soldering skills to attempt that copper jewelry display I blogged about yesterday!)

I won't be blogging next week while I travel, but I promise to show off my stash when I return, plus my metalsmithy attempts.

Soldered pendant for I Might Make That! Monday

Soldered pendants from Stampington & Co.

Does a soldering tool count as a power tool? A while back I wrote in one of my IMMT!M features that I got into beading because it didn't require special tools, then I found myself coveting a Dremel drill when I saw what other crafters were doing with them.

Although I grew up in a household of three brothers and a sister who was handier than all of them combined, this was still the eras of Girls Take Home Ec Boys Take Shop Class and I never learned how to use the simplest tools, like a soldering iron. (Is it called an "iron" or a "gun"? See how clueless I am?) There's been nothing stopping me learning how as an adult save for lack of motivation, and I happened to marry a man whose lack of skills matched mine. We do our best to support the local handyman industry.

I knew lots of jewelry makers used this technique, but I always assumed soldering to be part of advanced metalsmithing that I would need to take classes in. (I have to confess, I was much more interested in learning why it is pronounced "sah-der" instead of "sole-der" than how it was done.)

But whoa, Eva Maria Keiser just posted this video on soldering on her blog a few weeks ago.



I'm sure soldering is more complicated than this demo makes it look, but the fact is, I had never even seen soldering done. This looks easy! And look how girly this soldering kit looks!

So maybe I'll give it a go. Please share your soldering experiences too!