tashabear

Sorry I didn't see this sooner: take a look at Armour Archive. They have lots of patterns for all sorts of armor bits.

I'm used to doumbeks.

Drumsticks? For a conga drum?

Really nice! How'd you do in the competition?

This is the text of an email I just got from him: Thanks for looking at the new web site. We are having a problem with the shopping cart that should be fixed by tonight, technical difficulties as "they" call it. I apologize, make sure you look on the specials when the webpage, shopping cart is fixed, and you will receive a coupon for 25% off order. thanks!!!! Hidecrafter Iiiiiinteresting....

What lovely work! Really nice.

Please post it publicly! I'm interested too! (I'll be taking a class on Blind Embossing at Pennsic and will share what I learn when I get home, second week of August.)

Who told you it wouldn't stain? Also, you basically added rust to a clear liquid. Ever seen rusty water? Same idea.

This was my first year with my very own merchant table at Anthrocon, and it won't be my last. I had a great time, sold a bunch of stuff, got to make a few custom con badges*, and even had time to make a little something for me. *I don't know if this happens at other types of cons, but at furry cons, attendees often get badges made with pictures of their characters and character names and wear them with the official attendee badge. They're typically collector's items; people cherish the badges from their favorite artists and often wear several at a time. I realized when I got to Anthrocon that I didn't have any way to display my business cards, and no inclination to make a special trip to Staples to get one, so I took two halfbacks and a scrap from a belt I made for myself and made one. (Yay for the foresight to bring scraps!) This is the first con badge I made. I really like how it came out. It also showed me how badly I need to work on my tight curves with my swivel knife, because the beads were tough. This is badge #2 -- you may recognize Hazel on the left, from the first badge. I made this one for her girlfriend Allou. This badge taught me that I need to use more water with my paints than I'd thought, and that I need to work faster -- they dry quick. I made this badge for my friend Sym. If you look closely, you can see a gleam in the hair. I applied a papercraft product called "Perfect Pearls" to give it a shine. This picture was taken before I applied the antique gel, which really made everything pop. This is a custom flask that I did. It took me about four hours. It would have taken me two, but I was working on it on the last day of the con and people were doing the last of their shopping, so I got interrupted a lot. I'm really happy with the carving and paint job, but less so with the antique. The leather I used really absorbed it into the pores and it looked sort of... dirty. The customer was happy, though. This is the last badge I made at this con. (I have one more to complete that I'll finish at home.) This is a rendering in leather of a badge that the customer had done several years ago. I finished this one in about an hour and a half, which was about the quickest of all of them, but I think I was finally getting in the groove. I didn't do a lot of interior detail; most of it was rendered with paint. That isn't a weird hat he's wearing, by the way; it's a cloud behind his head. All in all, it was a pretty profitable weekend. We made money, we had fun, tomorrow we drive 10 hours to get home, and next year we get to do it all again. (My leftover goods will be posted to Etsy next week. )

I've actually found it easier than double loop lacing. The seat looks great!

I got into a screaming match with the IT director at a company I worked for when he said that FrontPage was the industry standard for making webpages. I die a little inside every time I see code generated by anything Windows.

Caid has no sumptuary laws. Where are these rules codified?

Ah ha... you need the IE Tab extension:https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419 Importing your favorites is easy: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Import_bookmarks...ternet_Explorer <-- no need to do it manually. I don't think you're conceding defeat; it's more like walking away in disgust.

You know... there's a function in FF that lets you change the rendering engine of a tab, so the tab opens as if the browser was IE. Not sure if it's part of the program or if it's an extension, but right-click on a FF tab and see if there's a selection that says "Switch rendering engine." If you don't see it, let me know and I'll tell you what extensions I have.

My husband and I go to a furry con in Pittsburgh every year. I always run his table, because when he's drawing, he gets into this zone where he won't notice people even if they're standing over him with fistfuls of cash wanting to commission artwork. This year, I'm taking on an additional challenge by running my own table at the same time. To that end, I've been working on making some artist's accoutrements with a steampunk vibe to go with the things I have left over from the SCA event I merchanted back in February. Mostly, I'm making bracers with penloops, sketchbook covers, and hopefully a couple of bags. I have a pouch thingy for a sketchbook, but I'm not sure I like it. It'll probably go on the table anyway; there's no telling what people will buy. I've been using a Preval sprayer for most of the dyeing effects, combined with rubber stamps and stamping masks that I found in the scrapbooking aisle at my local craft store. I may take a bit of a road trip tomorrow to try to find a few more; while I don't mind my pieces having a family resemblance, I don't want them looking too samey. Closeup of Tim Holtz masks. Another bracer, made using a mask and two shades of Eco-Flo dye: Java Brown and Bison Brown. My jury-rigged spray hood Sketchbook satchel -- I used eyelets instead of rivets because the leather is so thin. Finished artist's bracer. Pen not included. ;-) Sketchbook wrap: note the stamps on the left side. I used three layers of color: Canyon Tan, Java Brown, and Bison Brown. I used a crumpled paper towel to dab at pools of dye on the right, to very interesting effect. This is the leather I had about six weeks ago, that wouldn't case. Nice to see it was good for something! Completed book wrap. I like it a lot. This is what the inside looks like. Thanks for muddling through all that! My apologies to dial-up users. It's been a while since I made anything I thought I could brag about.

Feel better, Badger.

You must become one with the Google: http://www.amigos.org/files/2003_medieval.pdf (first reference) second reference

You buy the books and download them, same with the iPhone. I have a Kindle, first gen, and I'd love it a lot more if the battery life were better. I was an early adopter, though, and the first gen batteries are not as good as later versions. I just need to pony up the $20 for a new battery. That being said, I love the ability to preview samples of books, and to download books on the spot. I'm an instant gratification kind of girl. I do have the Kindle app for my iPod touch, however, and use it often. It's great when standing in line at the grocery store.

Did you buy the leather already cut into strips? Because it might be easier to cut the slits and then cut the long strip.

I use Super Shene spray -- have several projects that see fairly heavy use, and have never had an issue.

Neatsfoot, I should think. Nice work!

Then why, when I cut another bookcover from the same side, the same area of that side, did it case just fine? Seriously: these two pieces shared a cut line. If it was the first piece I'd cut from that side I'd agree with you, but it's not. It's just so weird...

But I've never had leather not absorb water -- it literally beaded up on the surface! And I cut the previous book cover from the bit right next to this. Why is this piece behaving so differently?

That I don't have. If the acetone doesn't work, though, I may go get some, but since I'm on a deadline, it looks like I'll also be cutting a new piece. I may try wetting that part of the side before I bother, though.

It was a brand new sponge. I spent ten minutes just rinsing it out. I do have some acetone, though, purchased for just such an occasion (I've given up on nail polish; I can't find a color that compliments the dye in my cuticles). I'll give that a whirl. Thanks! (And thanks for the link!) T