tashabear

I totally would, if we had a vise. :-D

WANT. But since that's not happening... where did you find the design on the flap, and how did you get such a nice impression with the celtic stamp on the closure billets? Mine always look like crap.

My helpers weren't actually helpers; they were selling their own stuff. We haven't compared notes yet, but I think they did all right as well. The bozo who tried to tell me my flask was used said that it smelled like there had been whiskey in it. I didn't smell anything... Next time I'll have a spare nekkid flask under the table and offer to swap it out on the spot. I don't know when I'll merchant again. There's a competition I want to enter at the end of March, so I'll be making things for that (It's a pentathlon, so I need to enter 5 categories in order to compete for the overall prize). Lots of people who know me didn't know that I was doing leatherwork, so now they have commissions percolating in their heads, which is fabulous. I'd rather do commissions, particularly coronets, than merchant tables, but you have to do something to get the name out there.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html "The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA."

I would have loved to have you there! When the pictures of the apron dress are available, I'll post them -- six of us made similar dresses, with huge Viking-esque peacocks appliqued on them.

This weekend I made my first foray into the wide world of SCA merchanting with a table at A Market Day at Birka, the largest one day SCA event in the Knowne World. (It's actually a 1.5 day event, as the merchants set up and are more or less open for business on Friday night, but Saturday is when all the damage is done.) I had a great time. I was there with some friends from the local Tandy store in Chelmsford, for whom this was their first SCA event ever, and I guess they had a good time -- they were asking when they could merchant again, anyway. SCA events are a lot cheaper to merchant at than craft fairs (two 8' tables cost me $30), and we can sell the sort of goods we like to make. Sales were slow; I actually only sold three things that I had made all day. I sold a flask (I made a leather sleeve to go around a purchased flask) and two book covers with hardcover blank books inside. One had a knight's belt on it. I made one for each of the SCA peerages: the Order of the Chivalry (knights), the Order of the Laurel (arts and sciences), and the Order of the Pelican (service). When people are being inducted into one of these three peerages, they go on a vigil, which is sort of a reception with visitors and snacks and a guest book, which is what I was hoping my notebooks would be used for. The woman who bought my book cover said that they'd forgotten that detail till that very morning, and that she had been sent to the merchants to find something to use, and I bet she was a total hero for coming up with something so perfect. The other notebook was sold to a lady who is participating in the A&S50 Challenge. She has decided to learn 50 pieces of period music, and will be using my notebook to record her progress. She even commissioned another to record a second challenge that has something to do with sewing (there was a Middle Eastern music performance going on at DEAFENING levels behind me and I couldn't hear the details). I also got two other commissions, for book covers with personal devices on them. The flask cover I sold amused me no end. I finally found a full set of rune stamps on eBay, so I stamped the word BOOZE on a piece of leather, dyed it, and laced it onto the flask. It was the easiest one to make, and the only one of mine that sold. (One customer tried to tell me that the flask in the sleeve was used; I tried not to tell him to get off my lawn.) So between three sales, getting paid for two coronet commissions, and getting three more, I did pretty well. I also got lots of compliments on the truly gorgeous Viking apron dress I was wearing and got inducted into the Order of the Silver Crescent, which is the Kingdom-level award for service. It was a very good weekend.

I wear a headlamp.

Vegvesir is the name of that compass symbol in Icelandic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegv%C3%ADsir

Mine is from DBar Leather, and I love it. You'll want a deadblow hammer to get a good impression, though.

How did you do that? I have a Dremel Stylus and would love to speed up the edge burnishing process.

Come to Boston. It's 26 dF (3 dC), and we're all covered with slush and ice and snow. I'm looking out my window at the 4ft killer icicle on my neighbor's house. And even at 26 dF, I'll still probably go out with a t-shirt and fleece jacket. I always have a coat with me, but I rarely wear it.

Punch an appropriately sized hole, but the back part on the back of the leather and poke it through the hole, put the top part on the bottom part, put the setter on top of it, and gently tap with your mallet.

This might help: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/leather/ld.html

I can't get there either. Neither Firefox nor Explorer work. What are you using for a browser?

Are you sure it's not cuirbouilli? Sure. I've seen SCA armorers fit people with ABS breastplates straight out of the oven. It's not like they make you do it right onto your nekkid chest, anyway; they'd probably have fit the bits either over a form, like a last, or had the individual wear a gambeson.

Did Paypal send you a receipt?

Next time, reverse the order. Dye first, then add the gold. I use either Treasure Gold, which I apply by dipping a dauber in paint thinner and then into the pot of wax, or Liquid Leaf.

You should send a pic to Russell Mitchell. I bet he'd dig it.

Oh, pretty! I love how you did the scales. What did you use inside the mulefoot?

1. Download the zip files containing the fonts to the desktop. 2. Create a folder called "fonts" on the desktop. 3. Double-click on the zip files you downloaded and move the font files from the zip folder to the "fonts" folder. 4. Click on Start --> Control Panel --> Fonts. 5. Click on File and select "Install New Font..." 6. In the dialog box that pops up, navigate to the Desktop using Folders box (the file path is usually c:/Users/[your username]/Desktop/fonts). 7. Select the font(s) you want to install (Select All works well for me) and click Install. Pretty much exactly the same, except for where to find the "Install New Fonts" choice.

lol. Clicking links, for the most part, is less risky than kissing plague victims. My best advice is to read the entire webpage when you don't immediately see what you're looking for. Some designers just aren't that good at creating intuitively useable pages, or perhaps there is a reason in the site structure for doing it like that. I would have made the subcategories on that first page clickable, but I'm subversive like that. Here ya go: http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/fol...apprenticeship/

That's never worked for me; I can't see them thereafter in Photoshop.

Okay, here: Start at Funding Opportunities. Folk Art Apprenticeships is clearly under Funding for Individual Artists. But it's not clickable! What to do, what to do! Look at the sidebar on the left. There's a clickable link for Funding for Individuals. We're getting warmer... When you click on that, there's an expansion menu. Third on the list is Folk and Traditional Arts, which when clicked serves up a webpage with further information (and clickable links!) on Folk Art Apprenticeships and Fellowships. I'm sorry I didn't drill down right to the third level. Mea culpa. I just figured that people could click on their own...

That's awesome! Where did you order it from?

He's a dope. http://www.texasfolklife.org/apprenticeships.html