Sylvia

Hey PL01 Would you try something for me? Grab a scrap of the same leather and dip it into some water and rub the smooth side over that little scratch on the right side in the picture. I have a theory and if it works for you too... I'm going to make me a tool. (I'm looking for the scratch to virtually disappear) Oh and color scheme.... Black or dark brown background... and red knot .... and antiqued... and made satin(black)/shiny(red)

@Cyberthrasher I like that a lot!

He he he... GH is a cool old dude. I really can't answer that since I've never used resolene. The only thing I can offer is to try it on a practice piece. My supply of dyes and chemicals are limited and I chafe at having to buy yet another bottle of googah to use. LOL I recently bought a quart bottle of "Fiebings #5 dye prep" for $16 plus shipping. When I got it it smelled just like ammonia. I shook it and it got sudsy. So I got online and looked up the safety sheet. It's 90% water, and the rest is varying %s of ethol alcohol (clear booze), ammonia and "proprietary soap" What the?? So.... when I run out of this stuff I'm going to go buy a half gallon of Everclear 190 proof Booze, A bottle of Sudsy Ammonia from the $1 store and mix my own dang $16 bottle full of stuff and have enough to left over to make 40 more bottles.

Hi Mike: The only stupid question is the one that remains unasked. So no worries ok? The two tone affect is done by putting the shene on first in several thin layers allowing time to dry between. You want to be sure the shene is only in the areas you want to remain light such as a border or letters. Then use your antique gel and make sure it is worked down into the carving and stamp work. and wipe the excess off. Since you've already done this backwards... and have a uniformly antiqued piece that's finished with shene. The only thing you might be able to do at your own risk is dye carefully with an artist's brush through the shene. I was tired last night so I neglected to find you the video from Tandy.

Hi Raquel The older Tandy stuff is good. Anything marked Craftool USA, Craftool Co and even older Craftool with numbers like 943 (no alpha at the beginning) are all old USA made tools that are smooth looking and tool nicely. I've not bought from Bruce Johnson, but he has quite a collection of vintage tools for sale. http://brucejohnsonleather.com/blog/?p=268 On ebay I look for tools that are marked Craftool Co and Craftool USA mostly. The trouble is most of us are out there looking for the next tool we need for our kit. If you are looking for new... Check out http://www.barrykingtools.com There are others but they escape me at the moment. Also check out estate sales in your area for good deals I've seen some folks get great deals on old tools .

Yes, bluesman. Please re-read my post above.... I know.... and I have also gotten 30 emails from the system because I watched a particularly chatty forum. To me that many emails is more annoying than some dope quoting long posts with pictures.

Hi Mike: Satin Shene well resist the color from eco flo hi-lite or eco flo antiques. It will NOT resist the color from pro water stain or dyes. So be sure you know the difference. The result is a two toned effect .

LOL Cool!

Very cool! Applique awesome.

You'll need to get the finish off first. Use Angelus or Fiebings deglazer to do that then use a leather acrylic paint. Angelus has some great colors and it's flexible so it shouldn't do any cracking and flaking. There are some tutorials at Dharma Trading Company on how to paint shoes. http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/10144517-AA.shtml

Hi Ferg That's a pretty cool looking seat. I don't know how he's done the printing but I think he's getting the specked look by flicking on dye from a tooth brush. Water color artists use this technique a lot. It looks really cool!

I'll tell you why Dirtclod. Because if you quote it sends the person you quoted an email. that way you can participate but NOT have every post in the entire thread sent to you. I've tried the "follow this thread" thing and I swear when you get a particularly chatty thread you can get upwards of 30 emails from leatherworker.net notifying you of the new content. I agree however that sometimes it would be more intelligent if people took the time to delete at least some portion of the quote... especially those posts with huge pictures. Secondly... Good manners are relative in this forum as you and I have both seen. lol I do understand your issue with this however I intend to continue to quote though I promise to shorted the amount of text and pictures when I remember.

HA! I'd pay good money to see that!

Well, I'm too pooped to come up with some dribble appropriate to this bull session. Ya'll are a bunch of potty minded gents with nothing better to do than to piss in the wind. Ok, ok... I couldn't help it. I had to represent for the sit down gender here.

I can't speak to leather production. I'm still figuring that out myself. But if I draw on my experience while working at a small clothing manufacturer. 1. On station one operation. So I imagine for you it would be a cutting station, a tooling station, a dying station, finishing station, etc. 2. Order Scheduling If you know you have 25 orders of the same thing in the same color. It makes sense to cut and make all 25 at once, even if 10 of those are going to another customer. 3. Standardize. If your bread and butter is from a single item make it the same way every time, using the same hardware and dye. Meaning instead of offering 16 colors and 4 colors or styles of hardware. Choose 1 or 2 styles and colors and make that your "standard" options. Anything thing else falls under custom and garners a higher price. 4. Time management: Make one or two days your shipping day.(s) Pre-schedule your pick up or have a set day for the shipping drivers to come pick up your items.... and prepare and pack the items for shipping have them waiting for the shipping service. That's about all I can think of at the moment. Good luck.

CC. I have an idea for the stool. Look in your things for your Button Collection. (I know you have one) Look for a piece of some fabric... or the leg from a pair of those jeans... You want a piece about 1 inch smaller than the perimeter then the top of the stool. If you don't have a sewing machine 1/4" of the fabric under all the way around and pin it in place. Use fabric glue (leather glue) or whatever to glue the hem down. Iron if you have one... if not find a plastic box with a smooth bottom or a smooth glass bottle and get to burnishing... the faster you go the more heat you'll generate. Iron it until it's nice an neat. Then take your buttons and frame the edges with a random mix of buttons. Look for colors that go well with the blue of the denim and the brown yellows of the other fabrics. Place and attach the buttons about oh... 2-3 finger widths apart. Here's the cool part. you can hang your stuff from the buttons. Now attach the whole thing to the top of the stool... making sure that you maintain that 1 inch perimeter and make it really secure.

Well, Hmmm... If you are planning to use the stool as a display then I think the background fabric is too busy. It takes away from the items you want to sell. In fact when I first saw it I didn't even see the pendants. The denim in the basket is interesting but I think you would find the mare stare and eye of the horse thing would be better suited to that display. I really like the little bit of brown gingham. Not sure what to think about the tin I can't see it all that well.

Get a wood burner and brand the script in it instead. The scripting nib will "burn" fairly deeply so practice on some scrap first. As far as competing with a laser machine... this is why we say it's hand crafted. Humans err.... machines are mindless.

Hello: Could you please post a link to the video? S

ooooo if you use denim jeans.... the back pocket of a pair could be your business card holder for the display! Just sew a line on the pocket so they stick up a bit and is easy to take.

I've seen oats here in Burlap a year ago. Maybe back east they don't do that anymore at all? Any yardage would work actually. I just like the burlap idea because it would give it a rustic chic look. Just plain white sheets cut to fit would work... you could even dye (stain) them with good strong coffee or tea to make them more antique looking. Even old doilies and doodahs can give it a vintage look. Maybe even old cut up faded jeans?? White glue would work as long as you can pin, clamp, or otherwise keep it held in place until the glue dries. It doesn't need to be that kind of pins, you can just tie your things on with ribbons, or bits of leather thong. Or use small safety pins if you have them. Think woman think! lol A business card might work temporarily. But eventually you'll want to make your logo prominent and permanent. I like this kind of "marketing" I did it for years... window dressing, signage, all kinds of artsy fartsy display stuff.

Ok.... Find the burlap sacks at the barn or use any linen or burlap style fabric you have. even old cloth flour sacks would work. Use baling twine from hay at the barn. You would stencil by printing your logo and cutting it out tracing and filling it in if you have to. As for the "board" you could use some nice sturdy cardboard from decent boxes. (or go ask for refrigerator boxes from the appliance store) That should be enough to make at least 10 As for as the "Stand" ... come on girl I know you've seen them before. http://www.amazon.com/Lineco-Stick-Easel-Backs-white/dp/B001DKLEJ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331778307&sr=8-2 As far as "u-shaped pins" Think hair pins.