CitizenKate

Here's a business card I make with leather using a stamping plate Jeff made for me a few years ago. I use the plate in a small bench-top clicker press that I have. The border stamping is done by hand. Kate

I just had something made by him recently. I emailed him and got a response 2 or 3 days later, I think he was out of town or something. He'll get back to you. Kate

I concur. Kate

Untreated Eco-Flo does lighten with exposure to moisture. Is the peice completely covered with this color, or just specific areas? Kate

Thanks for posting this, Regis. I'm sure a lot of leather workers who use acrylic will find this information very enlightening. Kate

I have used the Createx paints. The "transparent" paints are not acrylic, but latex-based. The "pearlized" paints probably are acrylic, but oddly enough, I've mostly hand-brushed those. For airbrushing, I've just used the regular acrylics that have be diluted. There are also some "airbrush cleaners" you can buy that do a better job of cleaning the gunk out of your airbrush after using acrylics in it. (Regis - I haven't gotten to try the Ammonia Windex yet.) Kate

Is that the Bucky Badger cap we saw in Show Off? Kate

I got mine at Ben Franklin, but I've also seen it at places like Hobby Lobby. Look in the same section where the paints are. Kate

Nice looking guitar strap! The inlays are a very nice touch. Kate

I think you are striking out into some serious originality, my friend. I'm not a big fan of skulls, but I always appreciate original work, especially when it's as skillfully done as this. Nice work! PS: I wonder what Billy the Kid, or Doc Holliday would have thought of this....? Kate

Not that we should start placing our work in direct sunlight, just 'cause we can. We're just pounding the heck out of these dyes just to see what they will stand up to. I am guessing these dyes will hold up in normal lighting conditions much better than the spirit dyes. Thanks for the info, ya freak! Kate

Point noted, I will give it a try. Thanks, Kate

Wow, that IS cool! I wondered if that first photo looked like muscles, but I couldn't place which muscles. Neat! Kate

Okay, I'll try a first guess... it's the back side of an embossed appliqué. I'm still not sure what it's supposed to look like yet, but I'm still thinking on it... Kate

Okay, I've got the green light to post these. This is a photo demo from Verlane Desgrange on the technique of skiving with a round knife: skiving_sequence_150_1.pdf skiving_front_view_150.pdf skived_leather_150.pdf skiving__wrong_way_150.pdf skived__wrong_150_2.pdf Even if you don't use a round knife, it's still very informative and shows you very clearly what skiving is really supposed to look like. Kate skiving_sequence_150_1.pdf skiving_front_view_150.pdf skived_leather_150.pdf skiving__wrong_way_150.pdf skived__wrong_150_2.pdf

Yeah, I've been through a few of those gadgets, too, and ended up throwing them away out of frustration. I've got a series of PDFs from Verlane Desgrange showing an excellent photo demo of skiving with a round knife. Unfortunately, I don't know if it's legal for me to post it. If we can get it cleared for posting somehow, I'd be happy to. I don't have a round knife (I'm a little scared of them, to be honest), but I was at a Peter Main workshop a few years ago, and at it he demonstrated how to skive edges with a scalpel and the leather laying on a piece of glass. It took a little practice, but I've gotten the best results from that as anything. Kate

The Delta Dreamcoat thinner is what I've been using. Windex, huh? I'll have to try that. Kate

I have done some of both, and I agree with Clay, it works pretty much the same way regardless of what tool you use to apply it. The only thing I would add is, if you use an airbrush, the acrylic thinner is definitely better to use as a thinning agent than water, as it keeps pigment from clogging your brush. Kate

I'm not Clay, but acrylics can be diluted with water. There is also a thinning agent you can buy for acrylic, that also helps keep the pigment suspended and keeps the paint in your tray from drying out too quickly while you're working with it. And yes, you do need to thin it, so it will absorb into the leather rather than just sitting on top of the surface. But Clay would be the best person to explain that whole process... Much of what I know about it I learned from him. Kate

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. David mentioned awhile back that he'd like to see a tutorial on making game boards. Next one I make, I'll put together a photo demo of the process. Also, for anyone else interested in doing a project like this, the pattern for this design and a couple of my other game boards are going to be published in a book that is scheduled to come out sometime next year, along with detailed instructions for making them. (Sorry - shameless book plug... ) Kate

Looks like your koi fish is holding up very well! And thanks for allowing us to feast our eyes on it once again. What kind of lighting conditions is this piece normally exposed to where you have it displayed? Kate

Beautiful design, and beautiful work. Kate

Wow, that really got my imagination going! Thanks for sharing! Kate

I finally got the frame and the rest of the finishing touches on my Backgammon board. I decided, for this project, to put together an entire game, including the dice, "checkers", etc. (Usually I just make the boards, and the people who buy them combine them with their own playing pieces). I also made some little leather bags for the pieces. Yes, I thought about making dice shakers, ala Al Stohlman, but I failed miserably! LOL I'll have to keep working on those... Kate

Your test is more thorough than the one I started last year, but I got almost exactly the same results. I've had three samples sitting in a south-facing window, getting several hours of direct sunlight daily since last July. The first photo shows how they looked just after the application of dye and before I placed them in the window. The second shows how they look now. The colors are Cranberry, Sunshine Yellow, and Evening Blue. As mentioned already, the issue with the blue and purple are known by Tandy. Last I heard, they were going to have new formulas for those colors out in a couple of months. That was about 6 months ago. As for the others, if they hold up this well under intense light, imagine how well they will do in average room lighting conditions. Now if they could come up with something this light-fast, AND resistant to moisture, then they'll really have something. Kate