first belt

We always do a secret santa kind'a thing on christmas and for this year my recepient was my brother in law. he is a vet and a bit of a cowboy so i figured a western belt was appropriate. besides it was an excuse to try a different project. Al stholman's books were a godsend for this one. step by step instructions made it a pretty simple project. the only problems I had with it were that the craftaids for belts are a true measure while the leather straps sold at tandy are slightly smaller in order to fit in the buckles and again I applied too few coats of resist before the antique gel.

hand stitching this one was a hell of a task but I discover that blisters and burns apart, the activity is quite relaxing.

I slicked the flesh side with gum tragacanth in hopes that it would prevent the dye from bleeding. soo far so good.