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Soldered Sugar Skull Necklace

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This soldered sugar skull necklace started as a much bigger idea. My goal? Tackle stained glass! For my monthly Bernzomatic post I aimed to make a grandiose calaca by hand cutting assorted colors of glass. I wanted to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos (today!) in all it’s bright and shiny glory!

I wanted to make something like this:

stained-glass-skull

 

Gorgeous, right? Ambitious for a newbie, yes? Well, after 12+ hours, I learned my glass cutting skills still need work.

Granted, my soldering skills are improving with every new project. I’ve spent a year as a “torchbearer”  for Bernzomatic and I’ve even worked up to teaching people how to use a micro torch and a solder iron!  But for the stained glass skull, rather show you the anatomy of a stained glass fail, I made one of my favorite comfort projects – a soldered sugar skull necklace!

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You will have so much fun with this solder project. It’s fast, fun, and easy and what gives it flair is that I used hexagon glass tiles. Not only does it look cool, but it make sit much easier to solder.

To make this, I used the Bernzomatic ST500: 3 in 1 Micro Torch, color photos, copper tape, flux, gloves, goggles, chain and jump rings. You’ll also need chain for the necklace.

 

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Use white craft glue on the front of the picture place it on the glass tile from behind. TIP: Use a thin layer, that’s all it takes. and you’ll want to wait until the glue dries clear before going to the next step. Trim the excess from the edges.

Another tip – always prep extra tiles so you can choose from the best ones to use!

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Apply the copper tape around the edges of each tile. Make sure to burnish the edges nice and tight, so the tape is flush along the edges of the tiles. You’ll also need to prep the jump rings with a bit of copper tape all the way around.

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Brush on a layer of flux over the copper tape where you will apply the solder.

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Wearing gloves and goggles, turn on the solder iron, follow the package directions. Hold the tip to the solder until it melts and drag the solder along the copper tape. At the top of the tool is a little hole where you can see the coils turn red, a little bit of smoke will exit through this hole, so make sure hold the tool so it’s facing away from you.

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Apply copper tape the back edges of the tile and solder the jump rings to the sides. This is so you can connect them to the chain!

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Once you have all three, you’re ready to make a necklace!

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Add in other beads and charms to fit your personality. I like this heavy chain and the charms give it sparkle to represent the sparkle of life, which is what Dia de Los Muertos is all about!

And YES I do plan to make the stained glass skull, stay tuned! I shall conquer glass cutting!

Related: Things to Make With a Torch

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Torch Bearer Logo

From the Bernzomatic site:

“Find Your Fire. There’s a fire in each of us. Waiting to ignite. We believe in carrying the torch ignited by our founder in 1876—whose quality craftsmanship and progressive mindset are what blazed the trail that got us here today. We believe in awakening the innovators in all of us—inspiring a culture of creators who can break boundaries, mark new territory and go where no flame has burned before. We believe in empowering those who’ve found their flame and dare to follow it. Because the ones who do are the catalysts of bold transformations that redefine the limits of what we can achieve.   We believe in our fire and in your fire. It’s time to ignite.”

Thanks so much for checking out my project!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Bernzomatic. All ideas, opinions, and the excitement to work with this new art genre are 100% my own.

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