KatieG

Well, as a girl, I can only offer my input....but I'm opinionated lol Personally, I don't care if someone gets an earring or a tattoo. Unless it's my little brother, in which case, he's in for a world of explaining. Back when I was in high school ( yikes was that really so long ago?!), one earring denoted that you preferred the company of other men - and it was different on each coast. I personally find massive earrings and holes and distended lobes to be unappealing. I don't find them attractive. If I see a man wearing "pimp" earrings, it makes me roll my eyes and wonder why they wasted the money in looking stupid (same with those who wear their pants hanging off their rear end.) I've never been much for non-ear piercings, it looks painful! And tongue-piercing cannot be sanitary... Multiple-ear piercings I don't mind (I have 3 per ear but usually only wear one per ear.), but, again, I'm not too keen on the oversized stuff. (ladies, it looks stupid on them as well.. if you can perfom gymnastics routines, your hoops are too large. If you can, in a pinch, use your earring as a plate or whisk, it is also too large. If it finds it's way into your cleavage without effort, your shirt is too low and it's too long.) Tattoos can be very neat, if done well, and I think they should have a reason. For example, "this means alot to me" or "this was to remember something very important", not "I was drunk and my buddies thought it'd be funny to tattoo the evil monty python bunny on my bicep". My cousin wanted a tattoo as a kid and he, flower child that he is, told her that if she still wanted it when she was 21, that he would help her get it. She spent those years thinking about it, turning it over and over in her mind. Sure enough, she still wanted it, was certain, so he found her a safe reputable artist and now she's happy with her tattoo. Were I to get a tattoo, I know exactly what I'd get... but I'm kind of afraid of needles. I prefer tasteful tattoos over "zomg boobies", and I find the RIP with a crudely drawn face tattoos kind of creepy. I don't really want a dead person staring at me. Some men can pull off the long earrings and long hair (I am a sucker for long hair on men, if it's well-kept), some can't. Some can pull off small studs with short hair, some can't. Some can't pull off earrings at all, some can. If it's not something you'll be proud of in 5, 10, or 30 years, you shouldn't do it. I disagree with piercing small boys, unless it is religious. Yes, religious, not cultural. Girls it is mostly accepted, but I think that piercing babies is plain stupid. Too many chances for improper care. A baby can't tell you "mom my ear feels hot" or "dad this hurts". Heck, I got mine pierced at 6, and had to take care of them myself. (Wasn't allowed to get my second hole til high school. I earned it with good grades.) I prefer men usually without jewelry, but I like the tasteful look. Something to draw my attention to his other features, or that compliments him well. Really don't find body piercing attractive. >,<. Tho, I don't mind those tiny sparkly nose piercings some women get. Those are small and tasteful, the small sparkle usually accents their dimples when they smile, so it works well as an eyecatcher. But the oversized ones? I keep thinking "is that a bug on her.. oh no, it's a piercing... blech". Same with guys. I like a something accenting, something that sets them apart. Not something for the "don't stare...don't stare....don't stare...crap, I'm staring" factor. ./endrant lol

The koi looks more sad than creepy.

Awww ♥

Wow, amazing!!!

The pictures I've seen so far from the show look great, seems like it pulled together well. I miss the guild... I did send a letter to the guild with the jar. Glad you guys liked it! I'm curious as to what happened to it tho lol. And grats on the communication position!

Hi Ben I hope the show went well, sorry I missed it!

I use packing tape. I don't glue it or anything, I just put tape on the back and tool on my slab Nary a problem!

Well, I live in the nice part, by the Marina lol. We tell people we live in Richmond and they look at us funny, and then we say "the nice part" and they ask ",...it has a nice part?" ^^.; I've been to Pier 39, I didn't see a leather shop! Sad. but maybe it found a new home!! What's a Kepi? I still haven't been to the Jelly Belly factory, I might go in March. As for Busch... blech. Don't/can't drink lol. (allergies! whoooo!) Thank you for the awesome ideas!! :-D I like it here, to be honest...all of my family is from California. I live with my mom (she's the one with the job). I pretty much ignore politics. I'm not much for them... too much posturing, too little truth. I actually think that my issue with it was back when I lived in Illinois and our rep was Dennis Hastert, the then-speaker of the house, and when we asked him to sign something to help juvenile diabetes, he refused because of some stupid political thing... like it can look bad to help sick kids?! Ugh. Sorry for the rambling lol...

I use a bone folder and haven't had a problem with floppiness... you can also use a dremel with a buffing wheel - but PLEASE do some practice first, as it can be a bit tricky lol. Don't want to mess up an edge XD

The Games I've gone to have been by San Diego, where my dad lives. I actually just moved to this area from Saint Louis in December. ^^.;;;

Have you tried looking for a local historical society? I wish my local-ish highland games had leatherworkers.. the closest was someone selling cheap tie-on bracelets with misaligned celtic stamps from tandy on them unfinished edges, for like $20. I was very nice and just looked and kept walking,... didn't laugh in their faces or anything. Sorry for the little sidetrack there.... And even if you only have a small amount of time, you could have some items premade. I mean, they were tradesmen, too, so probably did alot of standard stuff like tack. Not glorious or beautiful, but hey it put food on the table.

There's always scabbards for swords and knives... what about the straps on bagpipes? Horse tack? Aprons for blacksmiths? I'm sure some stuff that was the same in Scotland and England.. I mean... they're on the same island. And go Scots! I'm a Black Douglas, myself

I prefer to diet by changing habits... an important thing will be not denying yourself the things you love, honestly.. make it okay to have, say, maybe a piece or two of that delicious bacon once a week, or even once every other week, especially as you adjust! So if you desire that small treat, ask yourself first "am I having this because i want it? need it?" If you think you need it, don't eat it. If it's because you want it, and truly are hungry, have a little bit. Personally, I went from almost 2 liters of soda (im talking mountain dew here..) a day to no soda at all - then again, I quit cold turkey. (Didn't have an effect, either... I just decided "this doesn't taste good to me. it doesn't satisfy me" and I walked away from it.) Ive found that if I cut down on sweets and bad food (I have bad food once a week - when I borrow my mom's car to get groceries and run errands, I eat at either In N Out or Wienerschnitzel.), and eat slower, and serve myself smaller sizes, that Ive been losing weight and my blood pressure's dropped to be much healthier!! (lost 50lbs last year, and Im down to normal blood pressure) Also, Ive found that with or for breakfast either a nut and dried fruit granola bar, or a rye cracker with light butter and some thin-sliced cheese is filling, healthy, and delicious! And cook more!!! Always makes it taste better..and since most cooks taste while they cook, your stomach will tell your brain it's full sooner, so you won't find yourself craving the greasy, fatty, unfulfilling foods you "can't have anymore". You still need salt, I recommend using kosher salt over table salt, it has a stronger flavor so one small pinch works better than shaking the shaker. Fresh ground pepper is better than preground - more flavor! "Healthy" doesn't have to mean "nasty". You want pizza? Make it at home. Make your own spaghetti sauce (I have some yummy recipes if you'd like), use fresh parmesan over the powdered shakey jar (you use way less and it is SO delicious on pizza/spaghetti/etc). If you can't have red meat, use turkey; a little worchestershire sauce will turn it from turkey to "hey what kind of beef is this? it's delicious!". Gah, rambling, sorry >,<.

I recommend Won Ton Soup and a copy of The Princess Bride! Chinese penicillin and the perfect sick movie.

That's so beautiful ♥

That is amazingly beautiful!

I only eat vegetables... that have been fed to a cow, which has been summarily killed then roasted for my enjoyment. Oddly, I'd only had one person be against leather in my travels. Frankly, I think it's a little stupid. Do they not use glue, either? On that note, if it's bad for the environment to eat meat, aren't we helping the environment by eating/killing the cows that produce methane gas? (I think Ron White came up with that one, not me...) I don't understand how vehement some can get over leather/vegan leather. I'd rather do something beautiful and useful with an animal that has already lost it's life, rather than know it's going to waste. I mean, people are going to eat the cow/kangaroo/gator/pig/bird/snake (deep fried rattlesnake is delicious) anyways... why not do something handy with it? I think I'm tired and rambling, excuse me.

Absolutely beautiful!

Gosh, I'm terrible, then... I've been using water for both. >,<. What is the benefit of the alcohol, may I ask?

Having had no experience with other suppliers, nor enough income to justify doing things like ordering direct from a manufacturer (for hides, at least.), this sounds like a terrible thing!! I hope that someone verbally slaps the folks in charge - that is a terrible way to do business!!! Personally, the only problems I've had with Tandy has been 2 bad kits (one I just got and am sad that I will have to attempt to exchange), and a problem with their red paint. (It turns to paste. No other color does it, it's insane, this is the 7th one.) And rant away, had I been one of the people affected, I'd be ranting, too! I wonder what goes through companies' minds when they pull stuff like that. Indeed, what about classes? Parties? Scheduled meetings? Who's going to call them? Issue refunds, if they've paid in advance? I hope that whoever caused that gets taken to task for it. That's poor management, and reflects on the entire company, not just one store, and can also affect the future careers of the previous staff. Not only do they look bad by association with the store's closing, but if they explain what happened, then they look bad for having to speak negatively on their former employers.

What I use for a matte finish, and in 4 layers seems to be waterproof (using it for coasters) is the Leather Sheen spray. Not so much the liquid, but the spray has worked magnificently.

Hello and welcome!!! :-D

Just hit 26 last month, myself.

Doing with the cut works better, cleaner, in my experience, but I have beveled sans a cut. With a cut you get a deeper, clearer impression. So, it's doable, and some people do do it that way. I remember a gentleman who doesn't cut OR bevel, he does it all with a modeling tool. So, while doable, it might require some practice and harder tooling to create the same illusions. Honestly, I don't sharpen very well myself. I miss my old Tandy, Matt was excellent and would sharpen my knife for me sometimes. I can do it myself, but I usually end up with a burr on it *looks ashamed*. You could look into a ceramic knife - I'll grab mine mid-project if my metal one goes dull, so I don't have to lose my flow to take time to sharpen. ^^.;; I keep practicing on a spare blade, someday I'll improve, I'm sure... I know that there are places out there that sharpen knives, and I think Tandy sells a guide you can attach to make it easier on you, as well.

A little rough on the tooling,but otherwise pretty clean. Your coloring is tidy, and the lines on the truck are nice. I think the wheels look a bit odd, with the big black lines come to them, but then, I don't know much about cars other than "gas pedal = vroom!" As for the lacing, I applaud you for taking up the mexican basket weave, it's a royal pain! :-D Your corners look pretty nice, and just a little practice tightening up your lacing will make it sweeter than cherry pie. An excellent first go, keep up the good work !!