HollyNelson Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Hi all, I've been playing with leather, seeing what I can do with it, for a few months now. So far, I am more a painter/sculptor than a crafter of utilitarian items (like saddles, cases or shoes.) But I have some fun ideas for the next few, larger projects. Anyway, here are some of my doodads. Enjoy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pounder Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Nice doo dads, great use of scrap material. Gave me some ideas. Thanks for sharing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollyNelson Report post Posted September 30, 2014 Hi Pounder, I look forward to seeing what kind of "ideas" you got. I wouldn't mind getting a whole box of vegtan scraps for little things like this. That would keep me busy for years! Odd shapes aren't useful for "real" projects, but dandy for jewelry, decorations, and of course testing colours and stamps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tannin Report post Posted October 1, 2014 (edited) I really like your fish, horse, cow and building designs. What is it with leather masks though? One of my leather books (see below) features a couple of moulded leather masks: The Leatherworking Handbook: A Practical Illustrated Sourcebook of Techniques and Projects by Valerie Michael You'd probably like them - creative - but it had me scratching my head! Is that a stamp/punch that you made to emboss the first fish design? I would quite like a large one of those fish on a T-shirt (keen fisherman). BTW what is the leather spatula shaped thing with the cool horse & cow/buffalo & beaded lanyard? Edited October 1, 2014 by Tannin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HollyNelson Report post Posted October 2, 2014 Tannin asked: "Is that a stamp/punch that you made to emboss the first fish design? I would quite like a large one of those fish on a T-shirt (keen fisherman)." Yes, I was trying to see if I could make a fimo stamp for stamping out a personalized image. The good news is, I made the fish and you can rammer-hammer the bejezus out of it on leather without breaking it. The bad news is, it is springy enough that it doesn't stamp properly. In the end, I got the imprint you see there by squeezing it in place with a pair of pliers. You could carve something for your tshirt out of dense blue insulation board, or smaller images from potatoes. (Let the carved potato stamp dry at least overnight, or it will get your paint all weepy.) Odd thing -- the fish was traced from a photo of a real goldfish, yet the finished stamp doesn't look like a goldfish, it looks like a betta. Ô_o "...BTW what is the leather spatula shaped thing with the cool horse & cow/buffalo & beaded lanyard?" So glad you asked. The images, cow, horse, deer and handprint, are taken from cave paintings from Lescaux. I was looking at the scrap and thought it looked a lot like a shoulder blade or some other animal bone --- adding the prehistoric images seemed natural. Then I got bone beads and some other beads to make it a male necklace, something a prehistoric hunter might have worn. Hint - waxed linen thread doesn't last long as a stringer for beads. I am going to have to restring it soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tannin Report post Posted October 5, 2014 (edited) Hint - waxed linen thread doesn't last long as a stringer for beads. I am going to have to restring it soon. Hi Holly, I was going to suggest using a leather lace/thong - I've been cutting my own recently using the inexpensive "lace maker" tool* (a round black plastic handle with a single-sided razor blade mount near the top) - but I think it would be too thick for your beads. I have some black braid in 2 diameters (2mm & 3mm I think) from the Italian company Omersub, it strong, smooth & compact - used for spearfishing but handy for all kinds of things - which would likely be ideal, as long as you don't mind using synthetic materials. *The lace maker didn't work with thick leather - broke 2 blades trying - but worked quite well with thinner leathers, once you get it started. I had trouble finding replacement blades but I had a chat with my barber, he told me that blades vary a lot in quality and gave me some new English made Wilkinson Sword twin-blade razor blades - which can be snapped in half - they work much better, very smooth, presumably because they much sharper. Makes it a much better tool. Good video on using it - although I found it worked better on soft leather than hard leather: Leather laces are expensive to buy here, so this seems like a good way to use up some left-over scraps of leather. Edited October 5, 2014 by Tannin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
