Handstitched

Some very fine work indeed. I'll have to practice a bit soon as I have a board game to convert from a square cardboard box, to a round portable leather case . It has a soft felt like board, not a hard board. HS

Nawww...thats soooo cute I have made tiny little leather bags for Mums teddy bears that she makes, but not boots . That looks cool though You need to do a 'shoey' with a mini bottle of champagne for that pun *** me!!!!!!!!!.... just spat my beer out HS

I'm taking a break at Christmas , so this will be my ' Christmas project' , it'll be too hot to work outside. HS

I found a pair of knee high black 'goth boots' with huge 5-6 " platforms at an op shop ( charity shop)for about $10 bucks, in good nic too . I have a heap of huge 40-50mm rocket spikes, studs etc. so I'm thinking of 'spiking them up' with extra ' bling & buckles etc.and whatever else I can think of, ...purely just for the fun of it , and perhaps for a display at markets. By the time I've finished with them , they'll be a lethal weapon HS

I have a headache now

My 'ye olde pooter' won't open those files. Bugger

You could also have a look at a book called ' Leather Braiding' by Bruce Grant. Thats my braiding 'bible' I rely on it a quite a bit when plaiting. . Braided or secret plait belts can take a bit of practice, but very effective. Try on scraps first . I can do the 3 part & 5 part secret plait... I have yet to practice any more than that,.. that takes patience. HS

I'll bring him a bunch of grapes Yeh, and mine.....good luck with that Take out one piece at a time...very quickly....? .......and all the labels on the tinned food are facing the front, and the socks & undies are all neatly folded ... Gotta go, I have therapy in 1 hour HS

What is ...um...organised?? @DwightT there is one simple solution....tip them all out again HS

Thats quite good, I like it You could use plastic substitute teeth? Now that is interesting , C.I.T.E.S. ? New Zealand won't take croc products either.....or Cane toad leather products, as I have learnt . HS

I had to google that, I had no idea what it was. But you're right, where do you start to bevel ?? Maybe , stare at an image of ' Penrose Triangle ' for a while and blow your mind, but I would think the desired effect would be in the colouring & shading as well bevelling in all the right places. As an old mate of mine once said, " what a head f**k !! " Good luck HS

Yep, gold will look good, I can see it now. You'll be fine, take your time, no rush , use Q tips ( ear buds) instead of brushes on the lettering and other fiddly bits , less mess, no stray bristles to mess up your hard work. HS

Well, thats a beauty. Um...maybe try a tiny bit of dye on the painted section and see what happens, but I think it will still show through Or, try a little bit of solvent on the painted section . The paint will almost be a bit like a sealer its has to be removed. HS

What an absolute beauty That emblem in the centre would look great in gold against the black. HS

They turned out great, great colours, especially the blue ( my fave colour) HS

Thats quite a good pic they took as well , well done I was in the ' local rag' once, just a few paragraphs and a pic . I didn't know I had a double chin until I saw that ...damn it !! I do envy the fact you have ' Leather Conventions' , I would love to see those. . No such thing here in Oz, a few ' craft fairs and country shows ' perhaps, but rarely any leather stalls...except mine. True. HS

Somewhere in one of our sheds is a ' Sunbeam' electric fry pan that we got in the early 70's . Mum did an entire Christmas dinner on it once when we were kids, a little ham & turkey , vegies, gravy , Christmas pudding custard , the lot , how the hell she managed it is beyond me . It tasted great, thats the bit I remember, LOL . As far as I know it still complete and works . The 'Sunbeam' appliances are built to last. Might try and find it. HS

Man, you've done a great job on those Looks a bit of a delicate job too . The brass polished up beautifully. Theres a great sense of satisfaction and achievement when a piece of history comes back to life My workshop is becoming quite a bit of a ' mini 'museum' lately . Lots a little bits 'n' pieces and curiosities everywhere. Just about run out of space now. I told Mum about you're hunting travels, ( she's a bit envious herself, she wants to go to the Canadian Rockys .....one day ) she's was wondering if you make anything from the skins? HS

I know you like old iron, but how about old brass? I only paid $20 for it at a local antique shop. Its a ' Companion' brand , made in Australia under licence from Sweden . Works perfect. I didn't even need to replace any plunger parts. Cool Pretty happy with that HS

That sun looks so spectacular , as for the mud, that looks challenging , even the snow looks good too Awesome pics . Recipes abound for the year.. yummmm The head studs just had a huge build up of carbon and gunk etc. around them making it hard to pull the head right off. Sure feeling it today tho, I ache all over . I have some bourbon for that...purely medicinal, of course . Thank you friend HS

@chuck123wapati I humbly and embarrassingly eat my words ....with BBQ marinade and a salad . I've only just got the cyl head off just this afternoon . One helluva struggle , but I got it off. I could see where the gasket went wrong, between 2 cylinders, quite common. Cylinders seem OK too. So, now to get it back together again and running again . ' In the next episode ....' I do hope you're out and about enjoying Mother Nature , hunting some good feeds, enjoying a ' cook up' and spinning a few yarns around a camp fire....*sigh* I envy that Have fun HS

I'm way late on this, CA can go off a bit too soon in the tin, but to thin out CA, I use ' toluene' to thin it out * . Too ex$y to keep throwing away. Depending on how much is left, around a table spoon( maybe more) in the tin. Leave over night, and its ready to use the next day. *the chemical make-up of other brands of CA maybe different to ours. Toluene is strong in vapour , and hard on the skin,( it burns) be careful. Use PPE . I used to use it in the fibreglass pool industry in another life...amongst other nasties. Toluene turns you into an Olympic sprinter to the wash room if it gets in the eye . HS

They would be good for those that have machines. I'll stick with my hand held English tip cutters

I have put a piece of wood inside the item . Also, as you mentioned wallets, and I assume the leather is thin (?) be careful not to hit the tool too hard as it may go straight through. A piece of scrap leather inside will help with that. HS

O'h dear ! Hope it wasn't a big project? Whatever marks you put on leather stays in leather. I guess the only thing you can do, apart from starting again, is to get creative and use stamping tools and hope they will hide the tracings ? HS