wildrose

That is really beautiful - just shows that you don't need an airbrush necessarily to get a nice effect like that.

That is beautiful, and I loved reading how you made it. I met Frank Zigon at shows and he does leather bottles too. I think it's such a fascinating topic. What really made me laugh though was when you said about using spit/saliva. I actaully "discovered" that when edging a project recently - it works great! Better than plain water, that's for sure!

That is really beautiful! A dear friend of mine, Yolanda, makes some awesome Bible covers. Check her site at: http://custom-leatherworks.com/ She has been very helpful to me when I've had a cover to do, and I'm doing one for myself actually right now.

I hear that, about the South. It worries me, having just moved here myself. I'd like to get into doing some Bible covers. To that end, and to answer the question, what I'm doing is plotting out one for myself as a sample to bring around with me. I always try to have something I made on me (purse, folio, etc).

Formerly, I would go straight to leatherworker.net/forum, and having checked remember me, all I had to do was type in the first letter "w", and the rest would pop up. Somewhere along the line though, that stopped happening. HOWEVER, I find that if I go to leatherworker.net and then click on the forum link, it still works. Still quicker than typing in my name and password, so I just do that.

I find that book confusing too, what really helped me were classes with Tom Hall. I thought he was easier to understand than Bruce's books. But then again, it's generally easier to learn in person than from a book...

Thanks for the praise

"Wildrose, I think people ought to spend their own money on whatever they want. Yes, lots of good charities, but a house is very important and I would love to have a larger one on more land." I'm with you there, a house is very important - my problem is when people are buying what we call "trophy homes", rather than a reasonable house for their needs. Why does a couple with no children (i.e. "empty nest") need a home that has enough square footage to house a family of 5? That's my point. Better to have a smaller house with more land around it. That's just me...

ha ha ha! That's funny! I only got in the low 100s so far...

Actually, houses where I used to live in Hunterdon County, NJ (around Flemington) are easily in the 400,000 and up range. We call them McMansions. Nobody builds small homes anymore, it seems, around there. To me, a large home like that is a disgusting waste of money that could easily be spent on many worthy charities.

I am so happy for you! I remember not wanting to know our son's sex pre-birth - but my husband Tim wanted to know, and I was certain he'd let it slip some time over the pregnancy...so I gave in. Then when the tech told us, he questioned whether she was right...and she and I both pointed and said "see THAT, it's a boy!"

I think the focus is going away from handcrafted items. People want stuff cheaply, and they don't care if it's "made in China", etc. I work p/t at a retail clothing shop in the local mall, and it is the slowest I've ever seen anywhere. In 3 hrs we might get one paying customer and one browser. Sometimes we only get one person in at all!

The Man from Snowy River...I shoulda known folks here would like those movies! I have pts.1 and 2 and those are definitely great pics. Beautiful scenery, great horsemanship, just really enjoyable. I forgot to mention The Big Easy with Dennis Quaid (his smile just melts me) and The Shadow with Alec Baldwin (probably one of his best movies). I like alot of old movies too with Tyrone Power and Errol Flynn. I remember having a free movie pass to see The Matrix and saying, "well, if it sucks it won't matter 'cuz I'm seeing it free...." I would've paid to see that again. Fascinating and well acted. Didn't care for the sequels as much though. When you have an original film like that, it's tough to pull off good sequels, I think. Pirates of the Caribbean is another that was good for only one time (no sequels needed) in my opinion.

Okay, having recently developed a sincere addiction to Iron Man (WOW! what a movie!!!) I'm curious if there are others out there as wacky as me who will gladly shell out today's movie prices to see a movie multiple times. I will clarify what I mean by nuts: I saw The Mask of Zorro with Antonio Banderas at least 10 times in the theaters (I'm a Zorro freak, really, and that was the best ever IMHO), and Lord knows how many times I've watched it at home. My hubby made the mistake of asking me what I wanted for Mother's Day...not missing a beat, I said "to see Iron Man again!" (this will make the third time, but heck it just came out and I have a 3 yr old...so that severely limits my movie going ability...) I confess weaknesses for the Lord of the Rings movies as well - gotta see 'em whenever I happen upon them while channel flipping. Even if it's not in the theaters, what is a movie you will watch any time it's on? My hubby is just as bad as me, only for him it's: Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption and any movie to do with war.

That's great work! And an interesting way to meet the girls, huh? There was a mail man at the college in NJ where I used to work, who knitted baby blankets for all the expectant moms on the staff. Guys can do really well with what is often considered "women's work". Look at all the great chefs! As to me, aside from leatherwork, I enjoy drawing and painting (though I don't do it as often as I used to). I'm a nut about gardening (flowering plants) too.

Here are the pics, as promised... The only thing I didn't love was the blasted packing peanuts in the box...bane of my existence from moving so often...

wow wow wow!!!! UPS pulled up today and I just knew it wasn't another Matchbox car from eBay for my little guy!!!!!! Yes, my pif from Tazzman arrived! HOORAY!!!!! It's like I had my mind read! It's perfect! It is an absolutely gorgeous checkerboard, with hand painted pieces in a little pouch of their own. I love it! (So glad it wasn't chess since I never did get the hang of that...) I love board games, and this will be a great one to teach our son. Thank you! I am beyond ecstatic! (pics to follow when I clear some space on my camera...)

I know a long while back I asked what folks liked LEAST to do when they are making something, so now I'd like to know what is your favorite part? I love carving the best. One of the things I love most about leathercraft is that even though I'm left handed, I can used the tools just the same! I find it frustrating when I'm trying to teach it and the kids don't just pick it right up! I have to keep in mind that it takes LOTS of practice.

Okay folks, go to - the list stands as it is. Remember, you should contact the name after you on the list for mailing info, etc - and the last person has the first person. Enjoy! Try to send your items out at some point this month.

My father's family name was Jameson...so you can imagine that I think that is WAY cool!

What a great idea! That's a really cool way to display your wares.

Wow! Did I get everyone talking...this is great! What I'm really finding amazing is that from almost every post I can pick a band/artist and say to myself "hey, I like that too!" Loreena McKennitt, though, talk about a voice! Whew was I happy to hear someone mention her. I do like instrumental stuff too, and have some Native American and Andean cds that are really great. I was pleased to see I wasn't the only one who knew about Tiziano Ferro. I'm going to have to check out some of the musicians I'm seeing...

To be honest with you, when I needed to cover part of a staff for my hubby (he was Friar Tuck on the PA Ren.Faire cast), I used a strip of leather and some upholstery tacks. It looked nice and worked well. Good luck with the braiding though - if you get it done I'm sure it'll look great...if you give it up, consider the tacks. Tandy sells them now and they look pretty nice.

I was just listening to one of my favorite musicians, Tiziano Ferro, on his cd Ciento Once 111. He has the most incredible voice! As a Spanish major, I've found myself buying alot of music in that line, but I also like country and Celtic music. I've been known to enjoy Yanni and Kitaro too. So what do you like? Or do you not even listen to anything while you work?

Magazines are upright on a built in shelf in my workroom. Large/oversize books are laid flat on the same shelves. For craftaids and sheet size patterns, I have them divided by topic in folders in a milk crate. (i.e. : craftaids, kit patterns, tracings, etc)