WinterBear

Like a squeeze purse frame, you mean? http://www.hardwareelf.com/elf/PurseFrames.jsp http://www.ohiotravelbag.com/Info/PurseFrames.html http://springfieldleather.com/23547/Frame%2CPurse%2CSqueeze-Coin/

Too bad about the shop, but at least the beads can still be found, right? Fire Mountain Gems and Artbeads carry them, and they can be found in most of the online shops that carry seed beads. I've never thought of excel. I might have to try that sometime. I actually moved to bead paper for charting some designs. Or I use a very fine grid graph paper and each "bead" is 2 squares tall and 3 wide. Works pretty well actually. I take graph or bead paper with me on campouts so I can plan things when I'm miles away from the computer. It's funny you mentioned wampum. I'm currently making a copy of the necklace on the like below with Tara Prindle's simulated wampum beads. It's actually my second attempt-- I dropped some threads when weaving and didn't find out until I finished. So I started over. I'm currently a little less than 1/2 way done with the reweave. http://home.cshore.com/waaban/wampumweaving/biasweaving.html

oooo, be really careful with bead sizes. There is a little variation between a size 8 in one brand compared to another. Yours are opaque Miyuki beads based on the inventory/item number. I use Precosia, old Venetian or Italian, DynaMites, Delicas, and Miyukis, and when I mess up on an order- imported Indian or Chinese. I haven't had a chance to use other Japanese beads, French, old German, or old white hearts. Anyway, if you get a bunch of brands, you're going to find that some won't play nice with other brands at all. When looking at seed beads from the side, they can look like straight-sided drums, bulged slightly like a barrel, a fat tire or donut, or a thin flat donut. If I'm wanting very precise modern loom work, brick stitch, or peyote, I use Delicas. Delicas have large holes for multiple passes of thread and needle, and are about as high as they are wide. A cross stitch or graph paper pattern is easily worked with Delicas. Delicas are straight-sided barrels. They don't look quite right for traditional work because they are so precise. Sold by gram or ounce packages. Miyukis are similar to Delicas, but not as straight-sided. They have slightly bulging sides, and are nearly as similarly tall as they are wide. They lend themselves well to brick and loom work, and like the Delicas, the finished pattern shows little distortion of cross stitch and graph paper patterns. They are less expensive than Delicas and aren't as precise, the the beadwork isn't quite as modern looking. Usually sold by gram or ounce packages. DynaMItes have a similar shape to Miyukis, and likewise aren't as precise as Delicas. They give a less "tailored" appearance. They cost slightly less than Miyukis and are also usually sold in gram or ounce packages. Most of my loom work is made with Precosia, a Czech bead. It is a short bulging barrel or a very fat tire when viewed from the side. As they are wider than tall, graph paper patterns distort. Once allowances are made for the shape, I have no issues. The holes are occasionally off-center or too small, and sometimes you'll get a bead that is very much thinner or thicker than its mates. They are inexpensive compared to Delicas, and are usually sold by the hank. I also like to use these in the duller/more traditional colors for rosettes and lane beading. Occasionally, I'm able to get old Italian beads by the kilo. They are more irregular than Precosia, but were more often handcut rather than machine cut. The thickness/height varies more, and some holes are off center. They have a duller finish and the colors aren't as brilliant. White and powder blue are easiest to find in these old beads. I use them mostly for old-style loomwork and lane beading. The imported seed beads from India and China are hit or miss, mostly miss. Sold by the tube, in gram or ounce packages, or by the hank. These tend to be irregular all over. The size, shape, thickness, and hole varies so much that any kind of loomwork or brickwork looks lumpy and careless. I don't even use them for teaching beadwork. When I get those by mistake, I give those to groups who work with kids for the kids to roll sculpey pendants in or use glue to stick the beads on ornaments. I don't have much use for them.

I'm not having any problems. Maybe it's your browser? I'm using firefox to access the website.

JoAnns is JoAnn FAbrics and Craft Store. and the paint Tina was mentioning is the Americana brand. http://www.joann.com/deco-art-americana-2-oz-acrylic-paint-1pk/prd11432.html#start=1 It's inexpensive, but not one of the "cheap" acrylic paints. "Cheap" acrylic paint can be bought for about the same price as the Americana or less at hobby stores, but the cheap paints are awful--clumpy, inconsistent, gritty, streaky, poor bonding qualities, and just hard to work with. I think you'll like the Angelus. I had the chance to try some and very much liked it. I plan on getting some Angelus for myself, but not until the spring since my shippers would invariably leave the package out in the cold somewhere along the way, and frozen paint makes an awful mess (yes, personal experience here). Those who work with Angelus have been very well pleased with them.

I personally have not tried the shoe dye, so I can't say one way or another. But, you might also consider lightening leather by using oxalic acid to bleach it a bit? Other leatherworkers use it to remove dirt and stains from leather, and it might lighten your natural leather to a lighter hue. Might have to get some more experienced people to chime in on this though.

Anytime.

Try "thumbprint"?

Well, I'd have to say the bone color on the first could possibly be acrylic paint applied after other dying. Potentially drybrushed with several colors (such as ivory, cream, ocher, tan, white, gold), then antiqued (either with a thin very much watered wash of acrylic and allowed to settle into the crevices before sealing or with a thicker wash of paint after sealing) and detailed. the shiny can be addressed by using matte good-quality acrylics and a matte or satin acrylic finish. The last one is as Cyberthrasher says, the natural color of the undyed/unpainted leather. I'm not sure about the middle one.

Hello to the moderator in this forum. This can be locked now. I was finally able to contact someone I've bought stamps from in the past, and he had one he could sell me.

I'm afraid I don't. They seem to be brass heads that are either heated like a soldering iron or in a hotplate, but other than that, I don't know anything about the ones that are made for using with commercial hot foil. I haven't seen any of them in person. However, from what I have seen from pictures, they seem to be similar to the tools and methods used for producing gilded patterns on books. This might give you some idea here: http://www.edenworkshops.com/images/gilding.pdf

The machines show up on ebay fairly frequently--look for "Kingsley hot foil machine"or "Kwikprint hot foil machine" to see a few examples. Depending on the machine, you may need other equipment as well, such as type holders. The type is often machine specific. There are also some people that use the hot foil and a specially made "branding iron" and seem to do fairly well with the simplified arrangement.

Ok, I have a young man in my Scout group that is working on a leatherworking merit badge. He'd like to have a squirrel stamp. While I have all kinds of animal stamps for the Scouts, I do not have the Craftool squirrel stamp. I believe it is number 8411. Any of you lovely folks have one you'd be willing to sell me? Any help would be much appreciated.

You might look for a product called Jett Sett fixturing compound--It can be found at jewelry suppliers, like Rio Grande, Cool Tools, Contendi, and so on. There are several different types, so you can tailor it a bit for your needs. Basically it's a reusable thermoplastic/ceramic putty that softens in hot water and hardens when cool. A lot of people (mostly jewelers and stained glass artists) that I know use it to build up the handles of needle files and other slim tools, and to make custom grips on tools they use a lot to help prevent fatigue. It runs around $30 for a pound, plus shipping, and a pound will make a lot of grips. Contendi shows a picture of various jigs, dies, grips, and a custom "hammer" made with Jett Sett Basic, and also covered the tips of pliers and a vise--all were made with a pound of Basic. http://www.contenti.com/products/stone-setting/510-620.html

I think the holes are used to hold elastic and the covers of the journal are slid through the elastic? And the flap is used to slip the cover of a small notebook in to the side as well? I dunno, what do you guys think? Tandy's instructions are sometimes a little sketchy...er, no pun intended.

I have used both ink and leather dye to stamp on veg tan leather with rubber stamps. Leather dye and the permanent ink do both stain the heck out of the rubber stamp and the alcohol based types can dry out the "rubber" on older stamps and can start to degrade them. Drying out isn't a problem with newer stamps though. The best inks are permanent inks that are meant for semi-permeable or impermeable (non-porous) surfaces (like StazOn), but any of the permanent archival inks do a good job as well (Ranger), and even plain archival inks will work as long as you are careful not to smear until the ink is completely dry (Colorbox). You can even use sponge daubers and inks or leather dyes to use stencils with some really nice effects, but this works best if the stencil is plastic and placed slick-side down on slightly dampened leather to really stick that stencil to the leather while you dye. The stencils can be used to create very soft shading of things like flower petals in the stencil openings, but the dampness needed to do this means the edges may not be sharp depending on the characteristics of the leather and how much the inks wick through the dampened leather, and smearing and bleeding can be a problem because of this. Okay, I'm wandering and getting off topic too much... Anyway, you might find this blog of some use: http://www.rings-thi...r/#.Un_EjCflbK0 If you want to sell your items made with rubber stamps, you might want to make sure the maker of your stamp has an "angel clause" or "angel policy". Some rubber stamp makers restrict if things made with their stamps can be sold (which makes me wonder what's the point of buying their stamp?). Here is a list of various companies angel policies (http://rubberstampin...AngelPolicy.htm). It is a place to start, but it is always a good idea to go to the company's website to make sure they haven't changed their policy. Some companies have no restriction. Some forbid selling items made with portions of their product lines. Some limit the number of stamped products sold in a calendar year. Some require that the item be accompanied by a tag stating that the artwork is from their company's stamps. Some limit the use of their stamps for sales materials (e.g., the stamp may not be used on any part of the display or packaging). And so on. Here is a link to Stampin'Up's policy as an example, which has some restrictions for items made for resale, like that the maker must also stamp the item with a proprietary Stampin' Up Limited License stamp, which of course, much be purchased from the company. http://www.stampinup...us/enu/5293.asp It's enough to drive a body crazy. Oh, an addition--I don't use mink or neatsfoot oil as a sealer, so I don't know how well that works. However, sometimes neatsfoot will cause a bit of ink bleed or smear when I condition the leather after stamping. You may wish to experiment.

For the template, try Black River Laser. http://www.blackriverlaser.com/

Very clever and fun. Will you also have a tree decorated with leather ornaments, but also leather gift-tags, key fobs, and small leather goods to be stuffed in those stockings?

Small http://www.etsy.com/listing/120168549/100-antique-bronze-oval-studs?ref=shop_home_active http://www.ebay.com/itm/500PCs-Bronze-Tone-Oval-Spike-Rivet-Studs-Spots-8mmx5mm-3-8-x-2-8-/130774385557?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e72c2c395 More of a medium http://www.etsy.com/listing/125478892/50-pieces-oval-rivet-studs-antique?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga? http://www.ebay.com/itm/2500PCs-Bronze-Tone-Oval-Spike-Rivet-Studs-Spots-11x7mm-3-8-x2-8-/130825016052?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item1e75c752f4 Not domed, but close to the right size: http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/parts/spots.htm --all the way at the bottom Patterned, but close to the right size: http://www.etsy.com/listing/115822256/50-pcsbrass-vintage-oval-dots-studs?ref=exp_listing This guy has them in several sizes, but only in nickel: http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&item=110975390722&_osacat=0&_ssn=landco317&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR9.TRC1.A0.Xoval+spots&_nkw=oval+spots&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Heh, you can buy them, premade, in various sizes. I don't fo much with powertools for similar reasons.. If you're interested, I can drop you a couple of links via a PM. Also, I can give you some leads on some other things you might be in interested for your art pieces.

Ok, have you heard of "tiger tail" or "tigertail wire"? It's a stainless steel cable (usually 3 or 7 strand) covered by a clear nylon coat. It's flexible, fray resistant, and comes in various thicknesses. It won't stretch and is very hard to break. Typical colors are gold and silver cable, but there are also colors available in small amounts. The 7 strand is more flexible, but the 3 strand might suit, even in the thinnest cord (0.012"dia). It's sold at most hobby stores, and online just about anywhere that sells beads. I buy from Fire Mountain, and use it with stone beads, beads with sharp holes (some glass and quartz beads), and to secure beads to wood or gourds. However, if you decide to use it, you'll need crimp beads to secure the ends as cable won't hold a knot.

Very nice work. They look like trophies, have you ever considered putting them on a shaped plaque?

It is also possible that kevlar thread or some other man-made stretch-and-fray resistant thread was used?

Good to see you again Edvin. Some beautiful work in those bags, and great attention to detail. Are you still handstiching all of your work?

I can get to their clicker page (just not the home page every time), and I can get to their other pages. It could be some of the Servers and Routers are affected due to the flooding, and goofing things up, or their server has an issue. Keep trying, and try this link too: http://www.prorodeooriginals.com/clicker-dies/ Once you get there, you should be able to access and load any other page, including the home page.