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Hail and well met, all, As I was sole entrant in the June Challenge and several chats with Double C, I am posting the July Challenge for all to see. While DoubleC and I spoke of doing a lacing challenge of some sort, I am thinking that tis time for a Masquerade Ball, after such a period challenge June had. So the idea is to make a Mask of Leather you might where to a Masquerade Party. It can be any style or theme you like but must be of leather cover at least one eye and some portion of the face. This means it can be from a Phantom of the Opera half Mask, to a Lone Ranger, to a full face. What do ya think?

Hi, lovelies! After joining the April Challenge, Cheryl asked me to step in for Q this month. Welcome to the May Challenge; Figure Carving! I’m going change things up a little and actually give you a choice between a few different reference photos to study and work from – A full body nude, or Anatomy (hand, foot, arm, etc.) The whole point of the challenge is to mold and manipulate the leather to fit within the contours of whatever design/ photo you’ve picked. For example; I would take a thin (2 oz or so) piece of leather, case, cut and mold before attaching the leather to another, more thicker piece. (Photos and more detailed example to come a bit later.) Here’s the catch; you’re only allowed certain tools to work with: Swivel Knife Beveler - Be it regular or carving/smooth. Modeling Spoon/Tool Dye (If wanted) & Glue Photos: [Photo 1] [Photo 2 - You may pick one of the six photos.] [Photo 3] [Photo 4] That's it for now, let me know of your thoughts and I'll be posting my own images tomorrow, as well as answer any questions! ~Rae.

I was arguing back and forth with a friend about starting these again so we could all practice thing we might not be so comfortable with. This challenge is what I call a break through challenge. I recently did a horse that I attempted to make it look like it was breaking through the leather. But you can do anything you want, although I'm going to do another horse. It can be someone breaking up through the surface of a body of water, an arrow shot through an apple, the possibilities are endless. I hope this will help us practice perspective and give a sense of motion to our projects. For people who've never done any of the challenges here, we don't have a winner. Everyone wins that plays. We usually post our WIP for help from the other members and this is a cooperative endeavor so that hopefully when the month is over you have a piece you're proud of. You can do the image on a project if you want or just a fair sized scrap, entirely up to you. I hope you'll all try to find the time to participate because this is open to any level, from a person picking up a swivel knife for the first time, to our generous long time folks here always willing to help. Any questions feel free to ask here for everyone's benefit. And next month I'll be handing the baton off to someone who's going to get us working on a steampunk project. Cheryl