DoubleC

I just went to the thread to post it here Jack :-) It's so much easier to see in photos that explain. Cheryl

WOW, one of my friends on here is very involved in scouts and I'll tell her about this thread and she can probably plan it down to a gnat's heel for you. She's so very talented. Her name on here is Winterbear and I know she'll have a lot of great ideas for you. I haven't worked with a group before so I'm afraid I'm not much help. Cheryl

That is awesome. Cheryl

LOL, I was the one who suggested you paint a guitar in oxblood where you had the ooops. It's a beautiful strap. I'm going to do all the strap dark brown, and then put resolene on it, and use tan antiquing on the carved and stamped parts. Then I think I'll do the smaller connecting strap in tan to even out the lights and darks. I'd love to get my hands into some oxblood, or some other cool dyes on this, but the customer wants browns. And the customer is right.....right? Cheryl

I'm getting my first ones in this months order so I can't tell you how to set them yet, they have setters and anvils made for them, but you can get anything you want at Springfield Leather Company and if you call them toll free they;ll talk to you about the correct way to set them, etc. They have awesome customer service. Cheryl

I don 't know how you can get that pattern other than what was already suggested but there is a latex rubber you can put on as a removable resist and it works better with an airbrush than it does painting. There is a thread on iot under the dyes, etc. forum, but Kate I believe. It's pretty amazing stuff. Cheryl

I've decided Tanner's bond leather cement works the best for me. I tried Barge contact cement and had really bad results, not because of the barge but I just couldn't really get the hang of it. And when I glue something I want it to stay glued and the leather cement does that for me. Cheryl

I am an artist in the truest sense of the word when it comes to figuring out how to make a mistake look intended....only because I'm not a leather artist yet. I have had some projects that just refused to be fixed, and everyone does. But I always try to make the mistakes part of the design. And I keep my ones that won't be fixed because it's so nice to look back a month, 3 months, 6 months later and see how much better I've become. If you believe all the hokey on here some people tell about their first projects, well just don't :-) I've seen people post .....my first swivel knife project or my first use of a basket weave stamp, baloney. They should read my first use of a swivel knife I had guts enough to show after practicing 6 months or my first use of a basket weave stamp that didn't go completely wonky after 200 tries. Leather work is a combination of art, science, engineering and technique and no one is born with all those abilities where they are selling the first project they ever made. It takes practice, patience, and a love of the work to become better. And lots of mistakes and fortunately a place like this to learn faster than if you had books only. Keep it up, you'll either love it or just decide you want to do something else. Cheryl

Well thanks for letting me know what they are called. Not a 'pretty' enough word for your birds though :-) Cheryl

I'm not sure this is a gusset question so much as a sewing question. Do you have this problem when you sew anything besides gussets? Because when you are hand stitching, there's a lot involved in stitches you are going to see. People use two needles and never put their awl down because it won't make the exact same mark when they pick it up again. I can't do it that way myself, and just made a hand sewed messenger bag with a blind stitch for that reason. Cheryl

Well as these things usually go, I laid out the options for the customer (in such a confusing way even I didn't understand it, like my typical explanation) and he went with what I thought about first....dark brown with tan antiquing. I've never antiqued like this in a reverse way, or it seems reverse to me, so I'll be practicing that and the other techniques on here so I can send actual pictures to Duane so he can actually see what I was stuttering and stammering about. So we'll see how it REALLY turns out after he sees me use all these techniques. I'm going to include a painted sample to on the light. Thanks for all your help. Cheryl

Ditto on the cutting :-) All my cutting tools have united against me! Cheryl

I get everything from SLC Chief. Did you talk to them? They've always made everything right for me even when it was my mistake, like when I order Fiebings oil dye and meant to get their institutional water based. They shipped me what I MEANT to get free. I don't even look other places now because they have been so good to me. Cheryl

Oh I was going to water down the dye and maybe even add a little white acrylic to it, then I can use the medium brown antiquing on it if I get the strap lighter than the cutouts. Or I was going to resist around the tree and initials and dye them dark brown. I'll try the blockout on scrap like you said with the same dye I used for the cutouts and see if that lightens it enough. I could paint the tree and initials instead. Well pretty much paint them brown or black :-) He liked the tractor but that's because it's painted to look like an old tractor. He talks about the plight of the small farms a lot in his songs. I don't think he'd like rusty red on the tree and initials. He's just really kinda into brown and I was surprised he liked the tractor painted. I'll just have to play with some of these techniques and see what I can come up with I think he'll like. Thanks Kevin, I really needed some help on this. I just want all the elements to 'pop' but be subdued at the same time. I guess that's what I'm saying. It's not so much he's into brown I don't think as he wants everything there but subdued.

I never thought about that. I could do the strap light and then use resist around the tree and initials and dye them darker. I was actually just looking at SLC for that latex rubber to do something like that but I already have block out, haven't used it in a while so forgot I had it. I'd have to use my light tan watered down to get lighter than the symbols though because they are made from the regular tan, then I added antiquing to the state and made a 'rusty' light red for the tractor. If it would ever quite raining here in the Verdant Hills I'd suntan it. I did an eye that way and liked it a lot. But since I'd like to finish this year, LOL, I'll try watered down light tan. Thanks Kevin

I am terrified at almost every stage because every step gets you closer to a great finished project (well I like them anyway, and my customers seem to) and a chance of ruining that project. I do a lot of guitar straps. And first thing you have to punch the holes. I'm not afraid of cutting anything I can use my strap cutter on, but can't cut a straight line to save myself without it. I am so much better at leatherworking than I was 9 months ago, but still can't cut a straight line. And I have a great oblong punch for those holes, but it's only an inch and I need oblong holes 1 & 1/2" So I have to do a double punch with mine after trying to keep it straight to begin with. I just can't seem to even MEET straight much less become friends with it. I do custom work so every project is different. I am always learning new things and I love that but I am always afraid of messing it up from the beginning of getting the design on until the end. I don't mind dyeing as much as I do everything else. I'be found that if I put my dye on FIRST, including in the holes and then burnish them with saddle soap and canvas the dye doesn't get all wonky around the saddle soap. Took me a long time to learn that. But then trying to go back over with edge kote or something? Since that also takes steady hands I wait until the top has a finish on it, and THEN use it, and when I make an 'oooops' I have a chance of wiping it off. I guess I should explain I have an anxiety disorder and very shaky hands. Odd combination for someone who loves working with leather. I am sorry when a project ends while heaving a sigh of relief at the same time. So I put off starting a new one while hardly being able to wait to start on it. This is a great topic. Cheryl

That I can't do. It's for a 'manly man' that about choked when I mentioned dyeing the State of VT. green, LOL. I'm kinda locked into shades of brown. But will a lighter color highlighter work on a darker brown to make it show up more? I'm not worried about trying them or how to use them so much as I don't know how they work. Like say would a tan highlighter or even antique (never thought about the fact I could get a lighter antique probably) show up in the creases? Sure, an antique would, just didn't think about it. Then I could also do the smaller strap a light tan too. I'll check SLC for light colors in the brown family to highlight or antique. Thanks Sylvia. Cheryl

Beautiful. I didn't realize they were called 'plugs.' I learned something new today about my own work. I often do leather on leather overlay on my guitar straps instead of covering the leather with an exotic. Now I know what to call them. That is really gorgeous. Cheryl

I didn't know how else to explain it although the strap is only going to contain leather. It's more a multi-technique problem I guess. I'm doing a strap where I'm going to sew on the leather pieces in the picture. However above the State I'm going to stamp initials and behind the initials but before the tractor I'm going to stamp and carve a tree of life. If I do the strap light with antiquing which I had originally planned, the state and tractor are going to blend right in with the strap, especially the state. If I do it darker I'm afraid the initials and tree won't 'pop.' I've seen a few threads about highlighters but have never used them and don't even know if that is something that would help rather than antiquing so I can do the strap a darker brown. I mean trying to highlight the stamping and tooling. This is the first strap I've made like this that had both on it, and I really can't think of a way to make everything pop. Any ideas will really be appreciated. Cheryl

Those are so beautiful. I love the stunning filigree work. They make me not EVER want to make a pair of boots one day, I would have this image in my head. I could never live up to the mastery you have. Why don't you show us more of your things? I honestly don't remember seeing anything of yours before. Cheryl