MendellLeatherOK

Tom, So sorry I haven't been on in awhile! I use Weldwood contact cement. You can find it at most hardware stores. I buy mine from Ace. -H

Hey everyone! Wanted to share my "tutorial" on how I prep and inlay my beads.There are probably many better ways to do this, but this process has been what has worked for me. Part 2 will be coming shortly on how I actually sew the beads into the leather. I had some camera malfunctions and had to split this into two parts. I ramble a bit and I apologize. It had been a LONG week at the office!! Please feel free to message or comment if you have any questions or have a better way to do things! -Hannah

I honestly use whatever fits at the time. The basketstamp is a RBS stamp that measures about 1/8" long. Its such a fun tool to run. Most of my stamps are the old Crafttool, but Im slowly upgrading to all Barry King.

For a first project...this is fantastic! I can tell you my first projects looked no where near this! Great Job!

This is a FANTASTIC summation of machines. I went through the whole Ill buy this machine to save some $$ and 3 machines and a million headaches later, I finally got the Cobra. I honestly couldn't justify spending the money at first or why people were always trying to talk me into buying one, but now that I"ve used it, I don't see how I operated without it for so long. It is very quiet unlike the Boss who imitates the same CRASH-clickBANG CRASH click-BANG as Matt mentioned. Don't let us talk you into something you don't want, but be informed before you make a big purchase of any kind and look at your big picture.

Thank You! I only do the leather on these. I dont have the patience for beads! Haha! My partner in these is amazing though! Thank You so much! I had to quit carrying one when my husband said..."honey, stop petting your purse"

I came up and bought a Cobra 4 about 2 months ago but I need to come back up there soon!

Mike's website at learnleather.com is absolutely awesome. I've taken a few of the online classes and they are superb. Another person on youtube to follow is Don Gonzales. He has great video as well as pattern packs to accompany.

Welcome aboard! There are some incredibly talented people here that will help in any way they can!

I stitched on a Tippmann Boss for a few years, the Cowboy Outlaw is basically the same footprint of the machine. The hand operated machine is good for someone who works while traveling or who is doing small pieces here and there honestly. I felt like my productivity went way down when I was using it because it took quite awhile to get the item stitched. Granted, I do mainly belts and such items. Another issue I had with it was the throat size. If I was doing a portfolio or something like that I had the constant issue of having to roll or bend the item to get it to fit in the throat of the machine. I have since sold it and am now running a Cobra Class 4. As BDAZ mentioned above, it has paid for itself several times over. Don't be intimidated by a motorized machine. They are so much simpler than you would think Before you buy either machine, sit down and make a list of the pros and cons that you can think of. The boss or the outlaw may work perfectly for you, but dont be afraid to save a little more and get a machine that you really need rather than save a few pennies and have to sell/buy again in a few years. -Hannah

Thank You!

Thank You! These are all Springfield supplies too! Besides the beads! I for sure had a few errors when I started inlaying them! Ha!

A few items that have come out of the shop recently! Lots of beaded belts along with lots more things. The hair on/Tibetan lamb clutches are super popular right now also. (You can find the pattern on dgsaddlery.com, they are by Don Gonzales). Been super busy lately!

Just a couple finished bands.

Thank You! Yes, I do all the tooling on mine. On that band in particular, it was a tiny basketstamp. Ill post some photos of some past ones with floral tooling.