Charm Swap

The charm bracelet arrived today. It was one of the recent Creative Underground swaps. The theme was "hearts" and we each had to make twenty-eight charms. The variety of materials and techniques used is wonderful. A great deal of time certainly went into each charm! The results are amazing! Okay, I'm probably not brave enough to wear it but I do collect charm bracelets and this is a very special and personal piece. If you look closely, my charm is a little soldered glass pebble visible just below the the tin heart with the "CU" on it. This was my very first time at any serious soldering (it's different than circuit boards!) and I soldered a large number of charms before I got enough to send away. Practice makes perfect. I'm nowhere near perfect! Of course I chose a round item to learn to solder on too. I hear straight lines are much easier to get the hang of than curves. I did really enjoy making them though.
The best part of these swaps is that when you get the finished product back, it is really 'finished'. All the charms have been thoughtfully arranged and securely fastened to the bracelet. A great deal of time goes into each piece before it goes back to the participants, which makes the whole experience very special.