GypsyWind

hahaha! thoes are my girlfriends hips in thoes photos that could be a big part of feminin look I just went and put it on and tried sitting in varrious chairs around the house, Its actually not too bad, it doesnt seam to uncomfertable to me at least =)

I thought it was a textured cowhide, but several people have stoped me and told me that it is buffelo? i dont know if they were joking or no tho lol no its actually not an epi-pen Tony, I didnt know what one was, so I just went to look it up, but that would be a great idea for someone who needs them, being able to cary them really acessable right on there belt

holy crap! that is amazing, I dont think iv seen a better alice in wonderland top hat out there!

beautiful lacing job! The whole hat is just incredible I cant wait to try one, i just picked up some more dyes

absolutly beautiful! Id say leave it the way it is, or just a bit of black to bring it out.

Iv been making several differnt style hip belts over the last few months, but this is by far the fanciest that I have made yet, all the metal pieces came off of a old belly dancing belt that I found wraped around a buddah's head in my friends back yard a few years ago. I loved how the metal looked so antique, so I saved it for something like this =) The last few hip belts that I made, I fealt that the pockets were too bulky at the sides, so this one has two medium sized pockets on the back two segments, makes it so that the elbows do not hit the pockets when walking. The two back pockets both close with magnetic clasps scraped from an itialian purse. The front two segmants each have a small pocket with a snap closure. on the left side there is a business card/credit card pocket, and a industrial ring to attach keys,lights, etc on the Right side there is a lighter holder with snap closure and a leather loop for attaching whatever you can think of.... I hand stiched all the pockets with wax thread and what I think someone told me is "train stitching", but I could be mistaken on that. All the edges have been singed to curl outwards and darkened some. would apreciate any feedback on this, as it is my first of this style =)

I havnt yet done any castings of my face, I definitly want to have that setup so that I can make custome masks for people if they want. ill have to wait untill I sell a few more so I can go buy some supplies to make some castings tho not all of them but I did sell enough to get more leather and some hand stitching tools and threads, and also pay my friend who painted them, and buy THREE delicious sandwhich's this last week... Thats more then Iv eaten out in months lol... altho one lady that was looking at my masks said shes in charge of the local Theater productions and opra's and what not and might want to comission a large batch of masks for this next years plays and performances, so that would be really amazing if it pans out =) thank you Johann, alot of people seam to like the kitty masks, we painted it to look like our kitty Mara hehe

hey Daniel!, the summer solstice celebration? This is a quick few bits about what it is, http://www.chiff.com/a/summer-solstice.htm Us as a house get together, brew 10-15 gallons of home brew, buy tons and tons of differn ingredients to make Dolmas, Steam buns, Russian dumplings, Carribian safron rice with black beens and salsa, and tons of other food, and we host a big celebration at our house, everyone gets face or body paint, there are hoopers and musicans, and there is a HUGE parade down our main street that Ends in the park across the street from our hosue. I was lucky enough to live so close to the park that I just put a table at the end of my driveway with a tapestry and was able to sell some of my masks to people walking around. hope that helps =)

So these are the first 17 masks that I have made. I sold a few on the summer solstice and instantly went out for more leather supplies =) So im hoping to do another 20 or so in the next monthish..... My wonderful housemate Eugenia has been painting all of the masks for me. She is such a talented artist and im really glad that shes been working with me =) Iv been useing a old Buddah Statue Head for shaping the masks, but am looking forward to getting a few more face templates sometime in the future,

sorry about posting such a similar post as I did last night, I just woke up a bit grogy from a bad migrane and didnt remember last nights post untill a moment ago! *can I delete this post?* looks around....

opps hehe, I just posted again about which sprays to use to coat the acrylic paints... I just woke up from a migrane and forgot that I had posted last night already Thank you for your reply and information, I think that going with a thinner leather will definitly help, Im having to skiv it down quite a bit to get it to hold shape. The next Hide im going to use is about 1mm thinner then the last, so hopefully that will help as well. Im going to head to the art store tomarrow to take a look at the differnt spray sealers that they have. As far as airbrushing goes, Im dieing to get one, but dont think that I can afford it anytime soon, the cheepest iv seen is like $300-$500 for starting kits, which is still a bit out of my price range, Thank you for the link too, Ill definitly go and read through it! I cant wait to make some more =)

my housemate help paint our second leather mask today, We are useing Acrylics to coat them. Does anyone know what would be a good spray to coat the acrylics in that will prevent them from cracking/breaking/flaking in the future? Beacuse I have heard this is a problem when useing Acrylics insted of dyes. I just dont know how I would get this detail with dyes, any help would be greatly apreciated!

you know, im honestly not sure, Its pretty think (thickest leather iv worked with) I believe I was told it is from the sholder and the belly of the cow, Iv been useing a Skiving tool to thin it down before forming it on my mold.

Was currious as to what people thought of my first few masks and if anyone could give me some tips/pointeres or ideas on what to change on them.... So far I have been getting really addicted to making them, I have 10 done so far and Im going to try for another 2-3 today!