Thank you all for your comments and your positiveness.
I have to work hard in my mind to keep things in perspective… it’s natural to be critical of your own work, and I easily lose sight of my skills, limited as they are. The reactions to my work have been very positive, even with all of the flaws I see in what I produce. I have to keep reminding myself that the majority of people won’t or don’t do this… and so their eyes look differently . I’m still in the learning curve, without a doubt, and am absolutely humbled at what I see others producing…
I strive to learn something new every day.. YouTube, here on the forums, articles, etc…. And I have to constantly remind myself of the time it took for the GOAT’s in this field / hobby to get where they, are.
So I guess the moral of the story is…. Just do it…. Have fun with it… failures are moves forward if you don’t allow them to set you backwards….
in answering some of your questions…
I use a design program called Affinity II. The lighter cozy with the Celtic Knot design is actually two patterns I found online, and combined them to one file. I print them on Velum, then transfer to the cased leather with a stylus. I do have a question…. Is it protocol to give credit here when you have used someone else’s patterns or designs? I really believe in credit given where credit is due. I’m still working through the copyright / intellectual property rights thing with these and want to make sure I am doing the right thing!
The Lord of the Rings one is also several vectors I found online, if you look close, there is also a very faint, embossed map of Middle Earth behind the Tolkien logo… I agree, the simpler designs are sometimes the best!
the stitching sides….. I’ll post additional pics of those… it’s actually where I am most confident and I enjoy the tranquility of the time it takes to stitch up!
thanks again for your comments… more pics coming