DoubleC

Odin, you do beautiful work. The girl who can't draw horses, LOL

I do the same as wareagle. Actually just glued a piece yesterday. However, I can't tell you yet how well it's going to wear because i haven't used it yet. I hope it wears well.

Suicide, that's wonderful. Those are really gorgeous.

I kinda have a weird philosophy......nothing leaves my house that isn't as perfect as I can make it, and I'm like a leather chef, I eat my mistakes, LOL. By that I mean I am making a 'products bag' for me and the only thing I hadn't made less than perfect was the blue jeans I am using. almost everything else was intended to be something else and I didn't make it right. Now you might not have noticed it, or a buyer, but I KNEW it was there and it was all I could see. So I'm making the absolutely coolest whatever they're called, LOL. Messenger bag? Big blue jean and leather thing holder? Working on it right now, just wait'll ya see it. I told a friend it's gonna be wild, and cool, and colorful and fun and all me. If the leather doesn't work out after you try to bevel it, and round braid it, make yourself a round braided bracelet, necklace and ankle thingy, all matching from the leash. People'll stop you on the street to find out where you got it, and give'em a business card, LOL. Seriously, I couldn't help you much with the technical stuff and I'm sorry. But I do have a little bit that will help....have a blast doing it, or just don't do it? Good luck.

I've owned two pair of boots in my life (cowboy I mean not winter) and both were Justin's. I got a pair last year from eBay for 20 some dollars that didn't have a mark on them. I am keeping that, seriously just for those boots. I guess I'm weird. Some people wouldn't care about a used pair of boots no matter how good the deal was. I appreciate nice things and I can't remember the last time I bought something new that went on my body, well except underthings of course. I got a saddle Frank from a woman for $50.00 she had thrown in the corner of her feed room. it was all dusty, etc. so I put it on a trashcan outside because it was a windy day. It ended up being one of the King show series, black suede seat, natural every where else. Again, stiff from no one ever sitting on it. Once I realized what it was under all the dust I tried to give her more but she wouldn't take it. It is not their top of the line but it was basically new needing a cleaning. the 15 or 30 piece silver plate pieces, whatever it is they use. My boots that I bought later ended up being black and tan :-) but that's not why I bought them. They were a beautiful piece of work and Justin's are comfortable. So I cleaned up that tool just so I can keep wax on those boots. Thanks so much, Cheryl Oh, Pic is of my horse right after i cleaned that saddle all up :-)

I just answered this and forgot to hit post, LOL. Maybe the blessed mother was trying to tell you something, LOL. Seriously I am not disparaging catholics, I just don't belong to an organized religion.

Icons, thanks, couldn't think of that to save me. Well I was hoping you'd have a long tortured tale to tell. I mean not really, I don't want you to feel tortured. This is getting worse by the second, LOL. I live in VT. and it was primarily settled by Italians I think. (I'm not from here). And you see a lot of Madonnas in the front yards surrounded by marble, which is what the Italians worked at. Actually I have a huge marble catholic church behind me that our apts share a parking lot with. They did a lot of restorative work this summer, and it truly is a sight to behold, LOL. I don't know anyone here with a motorcycle. You know Easterners, more apt to ride a bicycle and save the environment, fight big oil, and leap tall buildings in a single bound, LOL I hope I'm not getting myself in trouble here, I'm really just joking around not bashing anyone's cultural or geographical background. Anyway I love your seats. Cheryl

I heard that loud and clear......So can you tell me what the connection is I'm missing between the catholic church and motorcycles? LOL Salvador Dali used to always have a little man somewhere in his modern works, I guess it was supposed to be a father issue. I swear I've started looking at your seats from every angle, LOL looking for some form of, oh well whatever the catholics call that, my mind just went blank. All I can think of is stigmata and that's not it, sigh. anyway would love to hear the rest of the story when you have time. I'm working on a self-designed project today and having a blast!!!!!

Not at all, your work is wonderful. I try and keep my eye out when I'm here for topics of yours Joe. Cheryl

Your seats fascinate me Rickyfro. I always feel like Paul Harvey is just out of my peripheral vision range with the 'Rest of the Story.' Are all your seats commissioned first or do you make some in advance? Anyway your work is excellent. Cheryl

. Joe it's wonderful. I love the pipe things you do, and i especially loved that you displayed this by some of your pipes, and tobacco. The only thing I would've done different, if I'd remembered it, is sand the edges a tad and put your sealant there too. I don't always remember my edges. But you are really coming along with your technique. Cheryl

Hi Teresa. I was unclear in my post, which is about every post I make. I wasn't recommending you bevel the edges, I just said if you were GOING to bevel, I liked my french beveler the best, LOL. the braids I've made have quite a bit of give in them and I don't believe they will last. It is that 'give' I'm talking about and why I don't think the leather you are using will work out for the leads and collars. I think you're always going to have those 'wiggly' areas that aren't tight to the braid. They'd probably last ok; I read that braided leather (maybe anything, I don't remember) is stronger than the original piece the thongs were cut from. You ask all the questions you want to. I'm sure some others more knowledgeable than I am will jump in today. Good luck!!! Cheryl

That's what I should do at least an hour a day but I swear I don't know where I'd get an hour. But I love doing free hand things, and I'm getting to the place where my beveler and swivel knife don't scare the bejeebers out of me . Right now I'm working on 4 separate projects. I love it, I love the madness of it all but last weekend when I just sat down and did that bronc nose band, it was such a peaceful feeling. BUT one of my projects is a satchel I got the idea for at a website of a member here, who had a beautiful purse made out of blue jean shorts. I remembered I had a pair of carpenter jeans I can't wear anymore, and I'm going to add leather to them that's tooled with something, haven't gotten that far yet, and make it just absolutely wild, add anything I want to it, and I'll have a, oh what do you call it? anyway, nooks and crannies etc. so I can put SAMPLES, that's it, a sample bag for when we start hitting the streets with my things. So I just gathered everything I could possible think of I might need and gonna start on that. I'm just having so much fun Suicide, I really am. I'd like to see some coasters or SOMETHING from you. Can't you practice on something like that honey so we can see? I'd love to just see your practice stuff on scraps. Cheryl

gosh, thanks CowboyDon. Most people don't 'get it' when they see I picked this one of my 3 to start my local selling with. And I was hand drawing them from a picture of my horse's eye. And when I asked Kevin if he thought he could make a mold.....I sent him the picture of my best one, and now there's the molded one, painted all up. I have a hand drawn one of these on the check book cover/ card hold I'm making for me. I have one hand drawn on a small satchel I'm making to carry these and other samples in. I have the 4th one I ever drew that finally looked like a horse eye if you tilt your head to the right and hold your mouth right, around my neck. It's my talisman/worry stone. I could use one of the nicer ones of course, but this was the one that kicked things off for me as far as help from some local agencies. I have made Kevin a stockholder (not legally YET) and he just laughs at me. He spends a lot of time online laughing at me I guess he figures stock in a company that the forum is donating supplies to isn't anything to get too excited about. But it's been such a fun journey and just knowing I CAN'T mess them up makes it even more fun. When I dye them, if I have an oooops, it can always become a different color, etc. Because the eye itself is perfect, or I think so. Thanks for your kind words, really. Cheryl

Please don't move this, I'll never find you again, LOLOL

I can't answer all your questions but I'll try since I just took a break from round braiding rawhide. First I don't think you will be able to use that leather because it's too soft and stretchy. I saw places on your very nice round braiding where small places are 'wiggly' or I don't know the word to use, but too much material for the particular spot not allowing it to lie flat. And I think that's from it stretching while you braided. I don't think beveling will help that but if you do decide to bevel, I recommend a 'french beveler' (others may know of a better one) because the width allows you to 'strop' it and keep it nice and sharp. And i'm confused by your question about a core. Why do you need one? I just use 4 pieces of rawhide and do the braid. If you wanted it thicker, you could use 8 pieces of whatever you are using to braid with but maybe a core is less expensive? I don't know anything about cores. I also don't know anything about roo lace except your pictures of it are pretty. If it's stretchy don't use it is all I can say because you will end up with gaps in your braiding. I hope this was a little help. Cheryl

Thanks so much. I have another one molding while i work on other projects. I showed my VOW counselor today and asked him id I should have just done the eye like the one Kevin did, or if adding the detail looked ok. He said, you got 49 more conchos, do them all kinds of ways because you are going to be the Concho Queen of Rutland Suicide I haven't seen anything by you recently. Are you working your leather? (Maybe it's because i seem to post something every day about me of course, that it seems like it's been a while for you.) Anyway, Thanks again. Cheryl

Just dawned on me you guys may be watching this topic, so I'm adding the finished picture here too. I swear I'm still so excited I can hardly sit still.

That's a great idea. My regular insulated coat or do I have to make the jacket too

I'm sure you all read about my genius friend making me a mold for this, the ever popular and famous Tree Reaper. So today I colored it.

I have my paints and dyes, brushes, warm water and a sponge, rags and I'm afraid to touch it. I did this once before, I don't remember what project. After all I only have 49 more conchos I can mold I know this is ridiculous but it is what it is. It doesn't matter how many times I say that to myself.

I have a whole pigskin suede piece, but it's red. I guess i could check the seller and see if he has something a tad less shocking, but I'd never be able to cut out those scallops. I'm not sure how dressy they would look with my cutting skills. I have it all ready to paint. Any suggestions on the scallops? Maybe do the eye, add a round piece of pigskin, and after it dries trim it around the scallops? Also if i wet it a little on the left edge, and add the forelock and a couple of bevel lines in it will it hurt the eye? I'm thinking of doing a liver chestnut, or maybe a regular chestnut. or maybe a blood bay like Sienna, too many choices, I swear. It's hard to tell Sienna is a blood bay from the winter pics, but I'm uploading a pic of her in the summer, in my 50 buck saddle I bought, LOL . I had just finished cleaning it up and realized I didn't think it had ever been used and wanted pics of it. And her of course, I never get tired of taking her picture. Isn't she beautiful? I mean she is so well proportioned and a horse is such a thing of beauty anyway, I think. So there is the REAL creator of In the Eye of a Horse.