CitizenKate

Nice! I like where you wrote: "Official Leather Trading Card". LOL Nice touch. Kate

Who do you mainly sell to, CD? Kate

I took a photo of mine, but I didn't want to post it until after dirtclod received it. Kate

Hi Clay - We think a blog post is a better venue for publishing tutorials because it offers more features for formatting and presenting the content, and fewer restrictions on article size and the number of photos that can be posted. Another advantage is, this makes it easier for the author to keep the narrative together as he/she continues to add to the original post, while all the comments and responses are kept at the end of the post. (I'm sure you've seen the tutorials that were posted in pieces, with comments interspersed throughout the topic.) This way, someone coming along later to read the article can see the complete article in one continuous block. As for being able to find the tutorials we're looking for, that's a very good question. We now have tutorials being posted in all areas of the site - the forum, the gallery (in PDF or video formats), the blog section, even the ones that were in pages in the "front" section of our site... That alone makes them a challenge to organize. We decided the best solution was to create a Tutorial Index page in the new "front" section to make it easier to locate a tutorial by topic, author, or by keyword, and provides links to wherever it resides on the site. That is a work in progress, but you can see what it looks like by going to the "Home" of LW, then navigating to the Tutorial page.

Mine's finished and going out tomorrow. Cool ideas, so far! Kate

I was worried that someone who has already posted might take this as a "correction", but that's not the intent at all. So far, everything that has been posted is acceptable, and if you prefer to stay more "under the radar", that's perfectly okay. What I hoped to do here is to stimulate some ideas for new content, as there are many more possibilities to explore.

Jannicke, that is very nice work for a beginner. Well, not even just for a beginner, it's just very nice, period. You're a chip off the ol' block, for sure! Tina, you know if you teach everyone in your family to do leatherwork, getting a bigger studio might suddenly become a much higher priority. Kate

Ever since we opened the blog section on Leatherworker.net, people have been asking us, "What's a good topic to make a blog post on?" We currently don't have any rules, as such, for what is or is not allowed in a blog article (other than the usual restrictions on personal attacks, obscene content, etc.) For the most part, you can post anything relevant to leather work that you feel moved to write about. But we do want to encourage the development of content that has value (either in terms of knowledge or entertainment) to our members. In this article, I'm going to provide some suggestions of what topics make great content for fellow leatherworkers. In general, blog articles should be longer and more in-depth than a typical forum post. It's the perfect place to post step-by-step photo tutorials, in fact, this is where we would now prefer members post this type of information. But there are lots of other topics that would make great blog articles. Here's a partial list of topics we think would make great blog posts: Step-by-step works in progress of any projects you're working on, with photos. Well-narrated tutorials with photos of "How To...<do something with leather>". Articles about experiences we have as leatherworkers, and what we learn from them. Share tips and tricks you've learned or developed, with photos and examples. Places you've visited that are of interest to leatherworkers, such as the shops and studios of fellow leatherworkers, tanneries, the stores of suppliers, manufacturers of leather goods, etc., or even a grand tour of your own studio or shop (don't forget to take photos!). Human interest: tell us about how your involvement with working leather has affected your life (again, the more images, the better). Articles on how you have solved business problems in an effort to make producing leather goods profitable. Got something you're offering for sale to other leatherworkers that you want to promote? You can submit a blog article to promote it, but it will get a lot more attention if you write one that provides some useful information related to what you're offering. For example, if you make a tool that you sell, write an article with tips on best ways to use the tool. If you deal in used sewing machines, consider writing articles about how to choose the right machine. There are many more possibilities besides what I've listed above, but maybe this will give you an idea of some similar topics to consider. To encourage members to post good content to their blogs, the Leatherworker.net staff is going to review the blog posts submitted each week, and based on the criteria described in this article, determine whether to feature one of the articles. If your blog article is chosen, it will be featured on the main forum page for 3 days. I know quite a few of you out there are itching to get started... hopefully, this will give you a starting point. Feel free to leave a comment if there are topics you would like to see in the blogs.

I have a "shop rate" I use to estimate the cost of everything I make, in addition to materials. I based the fee on the amount of time I think it will take, times the shop rate, plus I factored in a little more for all the tape, cotton balls, acetone, denatured alcohol, and about 36mL of dye I used on the job. On the materials, I don't know the exact amount of each I used, not worth the trouble to actually measure and track them, since they are just expensed anyway... just took a wild guess. LOL Kate

Whew! Well, my idea worked. The new dye went on perfectly, and the board is now good as new again. It's just waiting for the new finish to dry... Kate

LOL - I thought it looked familiar! Okay, back to my Chess board restoration job.... Kate

I use either a wax or lacquer finish (as shown in the samples). I add Tan-Kote to the antique. Now I'm curious, Ross... do you normally put your dye on over your sealer? Kate

Another great carving in the making! Kate

I use different types of dyes, depending on the project, but in this case, I used spirit dyes (Angelus). All the dyes I've used will fade with enough exposure to direct sunlight, some more than others, and greens and blues are especially prone to fading. A sealing finish helps to slow that process, but there is nothing that I know of that can totally prevent it. *AHEM* Attention: dye manufacturers... do you think you could develop dyes that are more light-fast? Please? The reason I strip the leather before attempting to re-applying dye is that the dye does not absorb as easily into the leather over a finish. Here are some test samples to show you what I mean... Kate

*sigh* I send along care instructions with all my "big" items, like game boards and chair seats, that include the line: - Avoid exposing the game board to prolonged periods of direct sunlight. This guy only had this board 3 months, the emailed me asking, "I keep my game board sitting out with my Chess set on it. How come it's getting dark circles where the pieces are?" I replied, "Has it been sitting in direct sunlight?" No answer, until about 3 weeks later, when he asked me how much I would charge to re-dye the green squares. I sent a quote and he sent the board back. This is what can happen, boys and girls, when people leave dyed leather in direct sunlight too long. I've had to re-do dye jobs before, and I wasn't looking forward to this. There's no telling how the color turns out after stripping and re-applying everything... and this one turned out rather nicely the first time. I decided to just try stripping the green squares, and leave the rest of the board as much intact as possible. It's taking more time to surgically remove the sealing finish and antique from just the green squares, but it seems to be working out pretty well so far. I'll post more, as I progress with the restoration. Kate

I don't know how I missed this earlier - do you guys realize this was originally posted almost 3-1/2 years ago? But you know... I bet those would make great hat ornaments. Kate

Hi DaCoda, Here's a copy of my pattern you are welcome to use as you see fit. If you print it out, it should give you a full-scale pattern. All the slots are made with a 1-inch slot punch. guitarstrap02.pdf Kate guitarstrap02.pdf