The Sugar Lady

That doesn't look like it was distressed via the usual concrete methods. I use a similar technique when dying my dapple grey leather horses. That looks like some really thinned dye and a natural sponge. You can experiment with scrap. Try one with the leather dampened and splotch random spots, and try it with dry leather. You'll have a more crisp line to your texturing. Same goes for how wet you have the sponge. Experent until you find a look you like. You can find the natural sponges at most craft stores and even Walmart. For that style, you want to look for the sponges with the really big holes on them.

I really don't post a whole lot around here, but I thought I should start. So here I am, and here's a cuff that I'm particularly proud of. I work on horse hair and leather for the most part, and I decided to try a little something different. I gave this cuff to a guy who cosplays as various themes of Santa and he's been test wearing this cuff for a few months, every day in. He still loves it and it's wearing in well. Here are photos of the cuff before I sent it off to him. The outside is veg tan leather, dyed with a mix of red and a few other colors to get that deep Christmas red and the strap was a mix of dye colors as well to get that Christmas green.

I bought 2 hides of the pigskin, didn't have the least problem dying with fiebings alcohol dye...then fading them out with some other items at the bottom. I thought they sucked in dye quite nicely for the chap/pants I made. Beat them around a bit and add some Aussie and they wear quite comfortably. I plan on getting some more

Gorgeous work!!

That's still heaps and bounds over what I could carve. Good work! Llve the slight bit of texture tou added around the carving too. Love the touch the lacing adds.

Thanks for the compliments guys! It's taken LOTS of experimenting, playing around and I will admit, a generous amount of swearing to figure this technique out. And hubby's seen more than one piece sail across the living room from the kitchen from failed attempts. It all started when a horsehair customer wondered if I could make a bracelet in her horse's color. The horse happened to be a dappled buckskin. Being the obsessed color nut that I am, I wasn't happy until I figured out just how to emulate that color. Then she kicked it up a notch and asked "well, I actually have TWO horses I want to make a bracelet with their hair, can you combine both their colors?" The other horse was a nice little sorrel fella. I actually have a few bottles of colors I've had to mix to get specific results with. It's part Science part Art. My partner in crime calls my technique Controlled Chaos, because he's watched me do my thing on several occasions and he still can't put a thumb on what I do. I will say though, some of those colors are Angelus dye. And some of the other colors are Eco Flo (yeah, I know, that stuff's the devil and is evil and horrible, but it really is useful for a few things.) But that's all I'm allowed to say, since hubby always fusses at me for telling all my secrets.

I've been experimenting with dye techniques, trying to bring some of my art background into my leather work. I'm really happy with how this came out. I'm hoping I get lucky and can do it again.... trying to figure out this attaching images thing....

A watchband that I made for my father for Christmas. Not bad for forgetting the leather that i had planned to use to make with it while I was visiting. He happened to have some extra scrap laying around and I eyeballed the pattern based on the watchband he had. I will have to try another one once i have time and real materials. The other is . dog collar I made for a friend's Great Dane. The black was w vinegaroon black. I also antiqued the brass hardware myself.

Let's see if I got this to work right...

Thanks guys! I'll have to see if i can figure out this kindle to post a few more recent things I have done. There is a bit of a learning curve on working this thing vs my laptop. WinterBear directed me to a really neat seller of sheepskin than i plan to make an order from when i get a moment. I havent had much time to play around with bitless prototypes as much a i like. i agree about the shanks typically found on this style of mechanical hack though. i hardly ever use them myself. i typically ride in my rope halter, and would like to make a bosal similar in feel to the rope halter i have. it would be nice to ride my mare in something that looks like finished gear instead of "just a rope halter"

I actually, just happen to have another unfinished belt that I dyed from the same leather, and stamped and stained. Twice the work, but because I was worried about getting the belt out in time, I figured it was good insurance, just in case....so looks like it came in handy.

I have both near me, and hubby and I already have plans to go that way-ish tomorrow.

What about this? Maybe I could jazz it up a bit by adding some conchos instead, make it look more like it was done on purpose....

I remember reading that here on the boards. I did actually ask her to find a belt that her hubby wears comfortably and measure end to end, then measure from tip to the hole he wears it at. She said she'd remeasure again, so we'll see. I wonder if she just grabbed an old belt of his. I know my husband has a few different ones he wears depending on when he's gone up or down. I will definitely start sending them the diagram though, anything to help make sure this doesn't happen again. Thanks so much for the info. stamp any size! LOL

something like this maybe.... http://www.etsy.com/listing/106264290/2-sets-of-1-12-metal-rectangle-rings?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=metal+d+ring+slide&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

hmmmmm, you know, the bridle idea is sounding more and more interesting. I'll look around and see what kind of rings I can find and get back. IN the mean time, here's what I meant about the sewing, but I'm not digging it, I think... and it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one afflicted with the people pleasing disease. LOL

Hmmmmmm, that could work, make it look like a headstall. I'm mocking up a few ideas in photoshop at the moment, trying to see how different solutions might work. Just to clarify, I'm not against ANY stitching, I just don't want to be stuck stitching half the length of the belt, plus, i'm not sure WHERE I'd put the stitching. I don't have a stitching pony, so I'm kind of slow, and I don't have the time for what that'll take. Some stitching, like say a few inches is no problem at all. How fugly would it look to bring the stitching inside, maybe 1/8" bellow the stamping on the belt for a few inches? would that be too far in and cause problems later on down the line?

So, I had a customer order a belt. Turns out, she measured wrong or typed the number wrong, she's not sure which happened, and the belt she ordered is 4" too short for her hubby. It's one of my horsehair inlay belts. She offered to have another made and see if I can shorten the other one for her to wear. One problem....well, for me, since I've never had to do this before. She asked for 4" cut off the tip and an extra hole punched for her to wear it, but my thought is, since the design of the inlay horsehair is supposed to be in the center, that would make it uncentered, right? Could I technically take 2" off on either side? My other thought is, this was, to me, not a cheap belt, and the idiot in me feels a bit bad about her having to throw more money at me to make another one all over again. So my people pleasing self is trying to find a solution on how we can use maybe cut the middle part off and sew on two sides that are long enough...only, I don't want to hand stitch the whole danged thing either. Here's the belt... Maybe I'm over thinking a tad...I do have some pieces that I dyed and stamped that I could use to extend the belt like I said, but since the barbed wire is so danged close to the edge. (I wish I had more room so that I didn't have to squish it all in, but it is what it is.) I'm trying to figure out how I can stitch that together and it not look goofy, know what I mean. and I've had several people tell me "she's willing to pay you again to make the entire belt, just take the money and say thank you." but I have this people pleasing disease that I can't seem to cure...

More mottled dying. I like using this technique for leather and horsehair cuffs. My goal is to be able to create different colors to be able to mimic horse's coat colors. You know, bring a little more of the horse into the the design of the pieces, so it really does get a feel of the horse who's hair they're making a keepsake from. Plus...I just like the colors and the randomness of the patterns in the dye, but i'm easily distracted by color....and don't get me started on the leaves changing. I drive hubby nuts bringing leaves into the house because I thought the colors were neat.....did I mention he's OCD with the whole cleaning thing. I drive him crazy. In this case, my customer has two horses, one is a dappled buckskin, and the other a nice red sorrel color. She saw a few of my "patina finish" cuffs (as some of my friends and I have been calling them.) and she wanted something to combine both their colors. You can see the buckskin and sorrel better in person.

Beautiful!!!!

Thanks for the tip Mike! I may just stop putting off making a black hackamore for a friend of mine now with that info. And I can finally use the rest of that giant spool of thread that's been sitting there for months. Thanks WinterBear. I usually poke my head in our local Tandy every Friday, so I'll see if they have any bags of sheepskin. I do seem to recall seeing some round pad of sheepskin, for dying, I think. I might take a closer look at those as well.

Oooooh thanks for the tip! I think that's where that sheepskin came from. When I was a kid, I used to make tack for my Breyer horse models, and my dad was always picking up scraps if he happened by the Tandy in town. I've been sitting on those scraps for...oh, crud...at least 15 years. I actually had to blend 3 different pieces together to get an entire noseband. it took a lot of fanagling and a little trimming and fluffing to blend it all together.

Thanks guys! You reminded me where the swearing came from, OdinUK. It was the sheepskin that drove me nuts. Combine that with some SUPER waxy thread. I was using a saddle stitch and every time I would sew from the sheepskin side, the waxy thread would grab the hair and it would pull through. I tried all kinds of different ways to try to stop that from happening. I think I just ended up holding the hair back with my hand, really tight and sometimes parting it. That reminds me, I need to find some more black thread, or find a way to get rid of some of that extra wax. I also need to find some more sheepskin. The only color I saw at Tandy was that orangey yellow stuff. The effect was, if I remember correctly, a double wash of Eco Flo Canyon Tan and....oh crud....I should have written that down...I think mahogany for the top part. I combined a few water color tequniques to get the effect. I like haveing the option of either using hair from my collection to get certain colors and such or being able to make something really unique for horse lovers who don't typically wear jewelry.

Been a lurker/observer for what....almost 2 years now. I guess it's about time I posted some of the stuff I've done. I need to dig out some of my other photos, but this'll give you a general idea. I like to work in leather and horsehair. I have tons of ideas in my head, and I'm working on eventually getting good enough with leather that I can start making some of the really involved pieces I've got sketched out. A leather noseband that I worked up. I just need the metal shanks to make it a hackamore. I have no idea where to get them. It was a PITA to sew through all that leather and sheepskin. I know I put a few extra holes in my fingers sewing it, and hubby had to listen to a number of swear words as I worked on it. Leather and horsehair cuff. The lady who ordered this wanted something that resembled her horse's dappled palomino color. I'm fairly certain I didn't swear as much putting this one together. Just wanted to prove that I could dye something NOT splotchy. Lots of bling on this one... Leather and horsehair hatband that my father requested from my 27 year old horse who passed away a year and a half ago. I have to dig up the rest somewhere....