2SSophie

Thanks for your very quick responses to my post. I'll try both suggestions on my next project: using a lined pear shader + wrapping my paper towel around a block of wood. Also, any advice to improve my cutting/tooling/dying is welcome :-) Thanks again

Hi there, I have just finished a new leather case for my phone. I'm curious about an issue that I encounter on all my projects: I like to carve flowers and try to make a few deep pear shader marks. When I apply some antique (Fiebing Antique Finish or Tandy Hi-Lite, used as an antique), it never stays into the petals (see picture attached). My dream is to achieve something closer to this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BAdbOq4R2g3/. Beautiful and subtle shades. I'm quite far from this result Here is my routine after tooling & dying, do I do something wrong? - I apply 2 coats of Tandy's super sheen or, more frequently, Fiebing's Resolene (60% Resolene / 40% water), with a little spray bottle. I rapidly swipe with a piece of coton wool, to prevent the "bubbles" of resist to make stains on the leather. Let it dry several hours between the 2 coats, and after the 2d one. - I apply some antique (Fiebing's paste or Tandy's Hi-Lite): I put a glove on and spread the product all over the leather piece with my fingers, then remove the excess with paper towel, trying to go horizontal. Let it dry and buff. - I apply another coat of resist, sometimes 2. Most of the time, the antique tends to blend :-( My guess: maybe I don't carve deep enough? Maybe my way of doing this is all wrong? I thank you in advance for your help and suggestions! Sophie

Thanks! Lots of great ideas. I do use the scraps for testing (dyes, sharpness of the tools, etc.), practicing with the swivel knife and protecting the leather from clips. But I had never thought of the hair barrettes, tags, earrings and many other suggestions. Thanks again for the very quick and smart ideas! All I have to do is getting the work done now :-)

Hi everyone, As the projects go, I get lots of small leather scraps. Very often, they end up in the trash can, which is a shame for such an expensive material :-( So I was wondering: what do you do with your very small leather scraps, let's say a few inches long, less than an inch wide? Any ideas? Thanks in advance, Sophie