Storm

Thaxn! I think that the this basketweave does have a sort of optical illusion going for it! HA!

It's not that hard to do but just practice on some scrap leather for starters.Laying out the first two opposing rows is not to hard but you have to keep concentrating when you go back the other direction. I did it once and ended up doing a regular basket weave on either side of the central column. I really like the effect!

Finished one I was working on.I think it turned out alright.

That has got to be one of the most awesome pieces of leather equipment I have ever seen. And I'll bet it cost a touch more than beer tap pull! Beauty and function all in one!

Funny but I was wondering the same thing. My guess is an old beer tap puller!!!!

Your humbleness does you credit. Your words remind me of something my Grandfather taught me a long time ago. He was a rancher and a cowboy and loved his horses but he could string a thought or two together. "When your green you're growing and when you're ripe you rot." Translation~When you continually want to learn and to gain new knowledge and want to better yourself, then you will grow...however when you think you know it all then you might as well start digging a hole in the ground and jump in for then you are as good as dead. So may we all be evergreen and our pine cones bring forth new light and others who wish to travel on the path of knowledge.

That is excellent! Awesome design and very clean execution! You should be proud of this one!

Thanks to everybody for the kind words. It was my prototype and I have to make up some for my nieces and nephew in Manila.

The carving took about 2.5 - 3 hours and the sewing maybe thirty minutes by hand and finishing another 25 minutes and that doesn't include the overall time allowing it to dry during the various stages. Essentially I started it late yesterday and finished wet molding around midnight and let it all dry thoroughly.

Worked up a case for my son's colored pencils for his art class last night.Two coats of neatsfoot oil and a couple coats of Satin Shene.In this case I carved the back and front panels, saddle stitched them together then dampened the leather and molded the leather.

Beautiful work and love the design. Great job!

That case really rocks Tim! Very nicely done. I am willing to bet that she really loves it! Like the design and the lettering is good too. Keep it up as there are more than a few cowpersons (HA! ) out there that would love to have something like this. Storm

Thanx so much Bobby, Tim and Max! Appreciate the kind words. Storm

This is the second version of this carved painting. The first hangs in the bedroom of the little boy of a friend who moved back to Indiana from California. I is carved stained and then painted with acrylics paints.

Thanx so much for the kind words. Lost my job last October and this has been the thing that keeps me goingand what with my son starting college it halps get some extra going on in the place.

Really cool job! I have been haunting the garage sales and such looking for some old sturdy wood chairs in order to do something similar. This is a great way to recycle and at the same time be creative!

I saw this earlier but needed lto get some sun glasses. The craftsmanship is top notch...really great job. However this has got to be the brightest, flashiest and most mind boggling purse I have ever seen. I think your client must have really liked it.

Sorry about the bottom but the scanner did not do what I wanted it to do. Used an old red dye which looks more like Ox Blood to go with the base color. Soft black suede and calf skin lace.

Nice Design and very clean. Love the filagree work also. Please post more!

Really nice first go! I like it!

Thanks Guys! I call the coloring Tri-Tone. Block the flowers and then dye and follow up with the black background.

These two were made from the same leather as the previous one also: Same Super Shene(2 Coats for blocking); India Ink Background but this time I used EcoFlo All In One Desert Tan. I dilute the EcoFlo with distilled water (2 Parts EcoFlo and 1 Part Distilled Water. There was no reaction between the All In One and the Super Shene.

I have always found two coats of super shene to be enough to block. I think what I have here with the EcoFlo is an interaction with the the super shene. I have to try it with the All In Ones. This seems to be a new wrinkle as I never encountered this before.

I used the Saddle Tan antique. I have also been experimenting with mixing the antique and or All In Ones with distilled water. They are water based and it can give you some variations in color tone.