yaklady

Well, the presure is on! I'm trying to get something done for competition, or I would do the tutorial now. I know, here I am wasting time on the computer while I could be working! I have to take a break to figure out how to fix what I messed up! I can't carve an animal without putting as much detail in it as possible. This horse really should have a fly or two on it. Mine always do! Kathy

Hey Dale! I was working with oil dyes and acrylics (Delta Ceramcoat) at work the other day. Thinking about what you said about them, I decided to play a little while the boss wasn't looking. On a piece of scrap leather, I applied light brown oil dye and let it dry. Then I started playing with the acrylics on top of it. I had the same problem that Micah did. The paint looked awful, and I could not get it to do what I wanted it to. You must have the magic touch if you are able to use the two together. I don't have it! Kathy

I just got my yak hide back from that bad bull I put in the freezer last spring. It's beautiful! I will be at the IFoLG show in Fort Worth with the hide. If you're going and want to see it, it will be at Columbine Leather Guild's display table. Go ahead and pet it, he can't throw you through the air now! Bet you can't find the long white hairs. I'm also doing a demo that Friday morning at the show, "Face Lift". If you care to see how I tool facial features in leather, come on by! See you at the show! Kathy

Thank you Clay! I enjoy being blamed for stuff. Dale doesn't have problems with oil dyes, either. I don't know what kind of paints he uses, but you use the same thing I do. I have mixed spirit dyes and acrylics in the past, but they haven't worn well. When you're doing a picture, there is no wear to it. Maybe that's why Dale didn't have trouble. I made a CD case for my daughter, and the paint immediately started to rub off the horses that I painted. I have never used Fiebing's acrylics. Clay, maybe you should get some Fiebing's and paint your fish belt and see if it works. If not, you can just carve another fish belt! I know how you enjoy that.

Hey Dale, but you work wonders with leather! I have never had success mixing acrylics and other dyes. They don't go on nicely for me, like what happened to Micah, and then they wear off quickly. It didn't surprise me that Micah had no trouble rubbing the acrylic color off. So what's your secret? I'm so sorry your humor isn't working today! Kathy

Buckeye Leathercrafters of Central Ohio meet in Columbus. I don't know beans about Ohio, but perhaps they are close enough for you to go there at least sometimes. They are a very nice bunch of people, and would love to help you out. They're also hosting the IFoLG show next year. You should plan to go to that and take some workshops. If you're interested, If you're interested, I can put you in touch with them. Kathy

Tony Laier uses Crescent board, too. He likes the thickest stuff he can get, because he can acheive deeper impressions, since the cardboard "gives" underneather the tooling. You can get it at Hobby Lobby, over by the matt board. I don't remember the number of Crescent board he uses. Whatever board you use must be laminated so it will pull off the back when you're done. Pull the board off the leather, not the leather off the board, or you will wrinkle the leather. Kathy

Here's your problem. You are using acrylics over an oil based dye. It will never come out evenly that way. Acrylics can only be used with more acrylics. My suggestion is that you mix a color of acrylics to match the deep red oil dye to use as the base coat, then add the other colors on top of that. I'm afraid you will have have to start over completely, from square one with your tooling. There's no way to lighten the color that is already there. You could go darker, say with black oil dye to make a shadow effect. You just can't mix the different kinds of color. Also try going to a hobby store and getting Delta Ceramcoat acylics. They are much cheaper than Fiebing's, and the range of colors is almost endless. This brand works very well, either full strength or watered down, but I suggest you water them down so as not to hide your beautiful carving. More than one coat may be required, but it will cover if it's not over oil dye! Hope this helps and doesn't give you a headache! Kathy

When I do sleigh bells, I simply punch a small hole where I want the bell and run a lace down the back, looping it through the thing on the bell through the hole. Pull the lace tight and fasten it on each end. A knot there, or glue is the simplest, but you can bring it out to the front and do a little decorative buckstitching or something, too. Just get creative! Kathy

When you back up the last three stitches, you can add a knot to the stitch itself to stregthen it. Pull both needles through the hole, and loop one or both needles around the thread before pulling it tight. Some people stitch the whole project doing this. I don't feel it's necessary. Kathy

Those leaves look so good, I bet my yaks would try to eat them! Kathy

Yes. it is official. Hideco bought them, but the name will stay Hide Crafters. I'm anxious to see what they have that's new. Kathy

I am happy to help, Alessandro. As far as your glues go, you may be able to find them in craft stores or hardware stores. I buy my contact cement at the local hardware store bcause it's cheaper. Check the lable to be sure it's compatable with leather. There is a white glue at our hobby store which is a lot like Leather Weld. They also have rubber cement. I'm sure you can find something without having to mail order. Pre-Alps? That's an interesting way to put it. We have foothills, here. I live in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, southwest of Denver. Our foothills are 6000 to 7000 feet high, but they aren't as pretty as yours. I'm at almost 9000 feet. When I figure out how to post pictures, I'll send you one. Kathy

You've never had a real steak until you've had Yak Filet Mignon! I murder yaks for a reason

Clay's tutorials are very helpful. Just keep in mid that it takes a long time to hair even a small area properly. You can go over it many times to correct anything that doesn't look right. I put lots of time into my carvings, and it pays off. Good luck, Kathy

Al Stohlman was my inspiration. I have always been interested in figure and pictorial carving, and have studied those two books from cover to cover. It was many years before I finally found out how much more I can learn from real people. I started a saddle making class at Tandy's, and half-way through the class, the instructor was transferred to another store, far away. I finished the saddle by reading Al's saddle encyclopedias. My little tiny chicken brain had no problem following his instructions. That's how I learned for the first 25 years of leather craft, reading Al's books. How about you, Johanna???? Kathy

Hi Alessandro, I learned to seal the leather from people like Robb Barr, Bob Beard and Jim Linnell. I perfer the Leather Glow with its antique effect simply because it darkens the cuts, which are other wise hard to color. Since you put it on first, it does not affect the color of the acrylics. You can paint leather without sealing it first, but I perfer the outcome with the sealer. After the paint is dry, I then spray on a final clear sealer, an acrylic one that you can find where you buy your paints. Don't put it on too heavy! I hope that you can find some vegetable tanned leather. Are the tools available to you there? Are you in the beautiful mountains that are always in the pictures of Switzerland? I don't know many people here who eat rabbit. Do you have any good yak recipes? Chow! Kathy

I wish we had some heat here! Yesterday when I got up, it was 29 and there was frost all over everything. I never saw it above 85 this summer, but that was fine. We have very little humidity and don't even own a fan. Open the windows, that does just fine! Kathy

That's a very interesting use of a maker stamp, Kevin. Mine wouldn't look quite right used like that, but I may try it out any way. Nice purse! Kathy

Hi Alessandro, Clay gave you a good run-down of the two kinds of color. If you ask me, spirit dyes are more difficult to use. Acrylics are more forgiving. If you mess up with them, you can always paint over the top. I'm an expert at fixing up messes. Have to be to survive! I like to seal the leather first, before painting it. Leather Glow is my favorite sealer for this purpose, but any acrylic sealer will do. I like Leather Glow because it adds color where it would other wise be hard to color, rather than having the bright color of new leather showing through in the cuts. Acrylics are readily available in many colors, and can be inexpensive. Hope this helps. How are things in Switzerland? Kathy

If I ever figure out how to post pictures without totaly embarrassing myself with my lack of computer skills, I will post some showing what I was trying to explain! Kathy

I guess that's pretty freaky, but I still don't feel as freaky as I think Freak is. Kathy

Hairing really isn't hard, once you get the hang of it. Let's say you're doing a dog with a medium coat, like a German Shepherd. First, put down a few strokes with your hair blade to determine the direction of the hair. Of course, it goes basically from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. Now, following the general direction of your strokes, make little bittystrokes side-by-side, going first at one angle and then another, say 45 degrees to the left, then right over the top of that, 45 degrees to the right. Never make long strokes down the length of the animal when the animal has short hair, which most do. If you're doing a yak, for instance, the strokes would indeed be long. I find that the more directions you take off on, and the messier it seems to be, the better hair you have. Try using a tool like F918 to stamp some of the hair in. That sometimes works better on a fuzzier animal, like a marmot, than the hair blade does. It also gives you a better idea what the final outcome should look like. You may need to switch to a hair blade for the smaller parts of the body, like the face and feet. The main thing to remember, is short strokes going different directions. Hope this helps! Kathy

I wish I had gotten the 10,000th post. I want to be a freak like Freak!

That's very nice, Freak! I forgot to take pictures of the one I just made, and the guy came and picked it up today. You could make another one for the IFoLG show! Kathy