Misty

I'm a total newbie to leather tooling, but have fiddled with making plain cuffs and stuff for years. I've decided to work on my tooling a lot more now. I have limited tools so I'm working with what I've got. I definitely need to pick up some more types of bevelers and backgrounders. I haven't done anything with shading yet since that scares me, so Celtic knotwork it is. My first try ever was the Tandy craftaid, the the second I traced onto some plastic and transferred to the leather with a stylus. I was mainly working on my outline beveling, and I definitely like the textured one better. And I am in love with the tan colored antiquing gel. You can tell I got sloppy at the end of the first since I wanted to get it all done in one sitting. I've been making chainmaille for 9 years now so I thought my leather craft could use some catching up. I'm not up for critiquing yet, just wanted to maybe get some encouragement.

You say you used beeswax to seal? How will that hold up with use? Will you have to reseal it every now and then? And what it the best sealant to use? I have hear people use pitch, and at my local Ren Fest some say they use a food safe resin. Thanks, I'm dying to try making one of these.

Remarkable. I have quite a few friends who are into steampunk. I like the aesthetics too, but don't claim the term "steampunk". That helm, and everything else on your blog for that matter is so beautiful. I'm still just starting my leather experiences, but one of my future projects that I want to make is a helm with kitty ears, but I didn't know how to make it out of leather. You might have pointed me into the right directions, I won't copy anything please don't worry. I will now watch your blog regularly, hoping to see more.

I'm new on the boards here, and from Minnesota too. I get a lot of inspiration from our Ren Fest, but never want to pay the prices too. I think I'm on the bandwagon to request a pattern if you would be ever so kind. And where abouts in MN are you?