CleverPony

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. Beaverslayer - I worked at the Black Cat, outside of Hinton, AB. Their saddlemaker is a woman named Kathy who is based out of her home near Edmonton. I loved Alberta, but I can't afford to live there! I'm an Ontario girl born and raised, who just needs to escape to the mountains once in awhile. Regis - thanks for the welcome! Clay - I had read rumblings of tutorials and an oak leaf contest, thanks for the links and info!

Hey All, I'm brand new to the forums and to leatherworking - I fell in love with it while watching the saddlemaker of a ranch I wrangled on over the summer in Alberta, Canada. I ride, and eventually I'd love to get into custom bridlework and saddlemaking for myself and others. Above is my first attempt at leatherworking - Santa brought me Tandy's Deluxe somethingorother kit, and this is their cell phone case. I didn't like the pattern they offered for it, so I took one from one of their spur-strap pattern freebies. I am having a difficult time with a number of things; 1) CARVING! It's so HARD! My cuts just look like slices, they don't have any of the attractiveness that I see in other work - it seems to me that maybe they aren't open enough? I'm not sure, and 2) I'm having a difficult time with backgrounders, you can see especially around the acorns. Is it just a pressure consistency problem, or is there more? Any and all replies are encouraged, I look forward to learning from the minds and experiences of the members of this great forum!