Storm

Ray, If you go to Desiree's profile you will find a few place to checkout what she has done. I did and was amazed at her work! Storm

No blocking the surface by using a few coats of Super Shene before dying the piece. The problem is that the new All In One Tandy dyes are not like the old ones. The old antiques were never a problem. The new ones have a way of leaching through on occasion. I used to be able to work up two three and sometimes four layers of darkness.

Sorry kiddo but the design of the case and the pattern are original. Nice guess!

Rhona, Here you go. I hope this is what you are looking for. Storm

Thanx Rhona, It is aboit 5.5inches by 10.5 inches. Maybe six hours of work including the dying and blocking. Storm

Arbalet wondered what this would look like tooled. Sooooo I gave it a go.

Well pard. Ya know what they say about suckers....well let us chock it up to people needing to do a bit of shopping around. Most people are not aware that they can get something for less. For some reason they think Ebay is like a cheap swapmeet and that everything must be cheaper on Ebay. here are too many sharks swimming around in the Bay.

Looks pretty darn good for you first project. the lacing looks great and the carving too. Keep it up. Storm

Just a lovely piece of work. I love making jewelry too and never thought to combine the two. You really carried it off nicely. Storm

One word Gary! AWESOME!!!!!!! Storm

Thanx Noah! I just got back from Walmart and I found this fine Hemp like carpet thread. I also found this on the net. It is also hemp thread for shoes. vintage stock from Ireland dated 1946. You know if you're going to use it for shoes then it has to be sturdy stuff. http://www.ejtmercantile.com/catalog/item/5336501/6852620.htm I have already cut off a length and waxed it with bees wax. This stuf has a real high tensile strength to it. Now I have o whip up a new card case using the waxed hemp. Thanx again for the tip. Storm

Hi Rhona It looks wet because there are coats of Super Shene on it to block out the All-In-One dye. I also blocked the teeth. Was going for a darker background but the dye also went into the skull on the second go round. So instead of loosing the whole piece I just went over the skull. These new dyes are not like the older ones they are unpredictable. Sometimes I can get two different shade with the same side of leather. And yes I do shake the bottle. LOL! The coffee was good! It is called (Cau Fe Phin Sau Da) They love to roast their native coffee in the French styel(Very Very Dark) You end up with a black expresso which is then mixed with sweetened condensed milk and then the mixture is poured into a glass of ice and then soda water poured in to take the edge off. The original power drink. But at night I just pour it into a large mug and add boiling water, caramel flavoring and a couple of shots of Jack Daniels to cut the evening chill. Sorry but all gone. I started making my own as they are $3.00 (145 Pesos sa Pilipinas) a piece in the resaraunt. Thanks for stopping by. Storm

Finally got a chance to finish my Grateful Dead Head.

Wow! Elton you have one sweet set up there. I am jealous!!! LOL! Like the way you laid it out and the blueprint drawers are inspired. Congrats on the lovely new shop!!!

Just continuing on trying to come up with something new. Trying to perfect this sort of thing is not as easy as you might think. LOL! You can always find one thing or another out of place or that needs to be tweaked.

Hi Noah, At first I am reading Apocalyptic Business Card Case and I am thinking...Dude at that point no one's going to need a card case. As soon as I saw it I fell in love. Bitchin piece of work! You double down with the horse hide and the hemp thread and I am digging it. Two questions...Where did you get the hemp thread and do you wax it? A suggestion for expanding your capacity. Before you finish off the inside pocket and you have her sewn up....dampen the leather spray a bit on the inside and drain it off. Now take some plastic credit cards and carefully insert three into the pocket. Tamp them down snug with a mallet. Now add another card inside between theo of the card and tamp and then repeat for a few more credit cards. This is like a wet molding process and finish off around the side with a spoon modeling tool. Then let the leather dry with the cards in place. And batta Bing Batta Boom..you have more capacity. Maybe making it a touch wider will also help. See below what I mean. Storm

It is the same cut but the eybrow was just a bit deeper. The trick was to simplify a bit. The nostril was a touch of the side of my swivel knife. The side s small lightly cut curve. Glad I could help. It is a cool idea for a seat. Storm

Hi Man, Well here with find the carving I did this morning and the complete pattern I created from the art I found.It took three tries. So remember to practice on some scrap first until you get it right where you want it. The first one ended in a Miss Piggy nose too! I carved it with a hollow ground 3/8" blade. The beveling was done with the smaller Figure Carving Bevelers. I used modeling tools to work the inside if the eyes ever so gently. I also used a very small seeder for the pupil pf the eye. After modeling I used a fine hair blade in a swivel knife for the hair. Also added a little definition with a small undercut beveler. The problem is that it is small and that will make it more difficult. Not impossible but tricky and for that you need a little practice run or two and a gentle hand. I hope this helps you. If you need a larger version of the pattern let me know and I will get on for you. Storm

Nice leather flash art! Love both pieces. Really old school style! Storm

Sweet piece of work! Big Daddy Roth would have been proud. :You_Rock_Emoticon:The tooling and the colors are great! You even have the flies! Whoever gets this one is going to love it!!! Don't be nevervous...you did Big Daddy proud!!!!!!

Dave, What I am also talking about are projects that may take awhile to carve because of intricacy and so forth. I really do like where you are taking this one. You are going to get this puppy in more than a few publications. Storm

David...I find that for the big ones I will also wrap it in Saran Wrap or something similar. Storm

TOM YOU ARE A FREAKING GENIUS! You are the King Of Steam Punk! The stitching is amazing and the coloring is super. How did you go about the stitching? It has this sort of Frankenstein feel to it. It is the best mask yet!!!! Storm

Wow David! This is just coming along so nice man! Like watching the progression. Sweet!!!