DoubleC

I really like the wallet and like the others were distracted by the edges. Good luck. Cheryl

Anna Stone-Boyd is a friend of mine who is going through a really hard time right now. Two years ago she had a double mastectomy to remove her breasts because breast cancer was so prevalent in her family. Yet she continued to have infections in one of the implants. She finally got a second opinion from another hospital after being told for two years this was a normal process while the body adjusted to the implants. Her surgeon had not removed all the breast material in one side and she indeed does have have stage 3 borderline 4 cancer in the breast which has spread to other parts of her body. She is unable to work during this time while she travels back and forth to a hospital a couple of hours from Rutland. Please, those of you who are survivors of this horrible disease donate anything you can afford, even if it's a dollar to help Anna through this critical time in her life. And those of you who have watched someone go through cancer as a survivor or loss someone to cancer please try and do what you can. The link to donate is https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/3195/anna-boyd-s-breast-cancer-fundraiser?utm_source=facebook Thank you for any help you can give. Cheryl

Nice work, really. Cheryl

Flawless work, great job. Cheryl

You especially need to put a finish on black, and I would recommend resolene cut 50-50 with water, 2-3 light coats. Other people may tell you a different finish but resolene has always worked for me.

That's way cool Joey. Cheryl

Awesome job. Cheryl

Sabine I think two layers of 4/5 oz would be fine. Or you could do 7/8 oz veg tanned and a lovely tooling pig as the liner, and tool your design on that. I have some of that it and it so soft and drapery. Just nice to the touch. I don't see a purpose for a middle layer. Cheryl

Raw we've all been there. I understand the frustration and anger. I'm gotten down to the end of a project and spilled dye or got the edging dye on the top of the project and it's awful after you've put all that work into something. Hang in there guy, things just got messed up a lot on this one project. Put it behind you and have that beer! Cheryl

You're most welcome. Show us the project when you finish it OK? Cheryl

The way I see that comes to mind immediately is use chicago screws to hold the buckle on. Then you just unscrew them, flip the buckle to the other side and wear it. You'll just need to line it completely so there isn't raw leather showing on the flip. Cheryl

Thank you Claire, that's very kind. And I remember when people sent things by rail too but now you can't ship things anymore. And you can't leave it on the train and get it switched to your later train for you. They have a walled off area where you can store it for $20.00. Layovers cost an arm and leg, LOL. The food is expensive, even McDonalds cost three times the normal price. You have to get red caps to do anything for you and they work for tips. If you leave your luggage for any reason even if you ask someone to watch it for you, man are you in trouble when you get back. I know from experience because they went through all my luggage and checked all my meds. I was just taking my service dog out to potty. I know a lot of this changed because of 9/11 but I think it's gone to far. Last time I flew I had the dog with me and we got pulled out of line at each switch. I tied her loosely to the railing to get searched myself, walked through the metal detector, searched and then went back through to get the dog. They told me I had to do it all again because I went back through. So had to have the dog sit/stay in a very noisy, strange environment, walk back through, get searched again and then tell her to come. Strange world we're living in these days. And don't feel the need to run off and work because I'm doing my best to not start a belt, LOL.

Claire the USPS just is plain horrid anymore. I can't believe these younger carriers have one of the best jobs in the USA and don't provide good service. The older folk seem to do better. I have had more things lost, damaged and destroyed by the Post Office than I can count. I feel for you and to be charged a handling fee is outrageous. They lost all my first class mail for THREE months. Found it in a drawer some where. I could go on and but I won't LOL. Hang in there and no you're not alone. Cheryl

Good job Bill and great advice too. Cheryl

Oh that just takes practice. A picture would help so we could see what you mean. As far as brushes go to if you go to hobby lobby or Michaels they'll be pretty much marked what they're for. To paint straight lines I have a thin, fairly firm brush I use. Be sure and get good acrylic paint, eco flow from Tandy or Agelus from Springfield Leather Co or some where else. Paints made for leather. and practice. and practice on scrap pieces. No one gets it right the first time Lucky. Cheryl

The reason you're getting confused is you're looking at different angles. A gusset can be 1, 2 or 3 pieces. Theoretically I guess they could be more. The flap doesn't have to be sewn on, you can make it in one piece with the back, or you can cut a separate piece. If your pattern shows it one piece then cut it that way. A pattern can be daunting especially without written instruction. I think when you get your piece cut out you'll have an easier time seeing how it all goes together. Cheryl

You're search is probable too specific. Painting letters isn't any different than a butterfly. Try searching under painting. Here's a good place to start....Paul Burnett tutorial on painting. He had a web site called the Painted Cow but unfortunately is no longer with us. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showforum=217

I don't understand exactly what you mean by a finished side. I buy Herman Oak from Springfield Leather Co. and it's quite firm. But you need to dye the grain side, or actually you can leave it natural if you want. They have some cool already finished leathers on there too. If you go to the website you can call their toll free number, tell them what you're looking for and they will be able to provide you with answers. Cheryl

Ooops, you are both right. Cheryl

You do it by the sq. inch. You lay it out on something that is laid out in sq inches and count the total and divide by 12. of course the middle you can count by the foot where it's even, and do the edges by the inch. Cheryl

Looks great Chief. Cheryl

I have only once intentionally bought something from Tandy. It was when they had their lace on sale. I bought 3 rolls for 6 and the shipping was 8. However a fiend of mine has bought me things that were on sale she could handpick and the leather was beautiful. From that very same lot another friend of mine ordered it online and got red plaid. Really? It looked like a table cloth. We tried forever to come up with something he could do with it and the only thing we came up with was bridle and matching boot bags. Or a leather table cloth. Oh and the best leather I've ever owned, buffalo calf, came from there but SLC picked it out for me. Which they can no longer do, Tandy stopped it. Tandy made a ton of business from SLC customers but stopped it, I guess thinking we would come to them directly but I won't buy anything from them that hasn't been checked. Maybe we have outgrown them but I never bought anything from them. I live in VT and we don't have a Tandy so I had to buy online anyway. Once I checked SLC's prices against theirs they weren't even in the running. And as the tales grow I'm glad I was lucky enough to find SLC and other places when I started LW.

or glue it to cardboard and cut out the whole thing. Cheryl

The others have mentioned my other points so I'll tell you what else stands out. Roses aren't the same color red all over, nor are leaves the same color green. If you did a search on either of these for pictures it would help your art a lot. You would see that how the light hits them they range in color from black to almost translucent. They have shadows and bright areas. That would give more depth to your art. Cheryl

Beautiful belt, I love the natural with the black and your edges are wonderful. Cheryl