Mouse Pad

[Texson]

Needed a new mouse pad at work so I made one.  I kind of rushed the tooling since it was the first one and I wanted to get a feel for how to build it.  I'll take my time on the next one.

[Retswerb]

Looks great!

[Texson]

21 minutes ago, Retswerb said:

Looks great!

Thanks, Retswerb!  I was just looking at your luggage tags a couple of hours ago, and planning on making some of them up.  It also looks like we're in the same area.

[bikermutt07]

The deer looks really good. 

[garypl]

Nice job Texson!  Please provide details on project - leather type and weight, finish, thread size, etc.

Gary

[Carson]

Machine or hand sewn? Looks very good, I like the border stamps to be closer together but still very good

[fredk]

The work and technique look grand

Just a wee bit of criticism; a pictorial balance thing. The tooling of the deer is spot-on, but for pictorial balance it should be leaping into a space. On this its trying to leap off the pad but hitting a 'fence' - the border edge pattern. In pictorial balance things/people/animals should be moving or looking into a space. On the balance of space in front or behind the subject can give an impression of speed, eg little behind/more in front = fast, same behind/in front = slow or stationary

[Texson]

7 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

The deer looks really good. 

Thanks, Bikermutt!  The deer was part of a craftool.  I just used that part.  I didn't notice until I looked at the picture that I had over-beveled the neck/back.  Like I said, I was rushing this one just to figure it out.

[Texson]

3 hours ago, Carson said:

Machine or hand sewn? Looks very good, I like the border stamps to be closer together but still very good

Thanks.  Hand sewn.  I agree about the border stamps, I was just throwing this one together as an experiment/learning opportunity.  I will take my time and do it right on the next one(s).

[Texson]

6 minutes ago, fredk said:

The work and technique look grand

Just a wee bit of criticism; a pictorial balance thing. The tooling of the deer is spot-on, but for pictorial balance it should be leaping into a space. On this its trying to leap off the pad but hitting a 'fence' - the border edge pattern. In pictorial balance things/people/animals should be moving or looking into a space. On the balance of space in front or behind the subject can give an impression of speed, eg little behind/more in front = fast, same behind/in front = slow or stationary

Thanks for the input.  I was trying to get the leaping off the pad image but hadn't thought about running into the "fence."  Definitely something to pay attention to in the future.

[bikermutt07]

4 hours ago, Texson said:

Thanks.  Hand sewn.  I agree about the border stamps, I was just throwing this one together as an experiment/learning opportunity.  I will take my time and do it right on the next one(s).

Remember.... Slow is steady, steady is fast.

Not rushing a step is something I really struggled with in the beginning. My hands won't take the tooling, but I was rushing at other steps. And, it showed. Now I force myself to take my time, even walk away and smoke for a minute.

Doing small batches helps to slow down.

[Texson]

15 hours ago, garypl said:

Nice job Texson!  Please provide details on project - leather type and weight, finish, thread size, etc.

Gary

Thanks, Gary!  Used 4-5 oz shoulder I think (just something I picked up at Tandy), white waxed thread from Tandy, and finished with Eco Flow Tan Gel Antique. 

[Texson]

3 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

Remember.... Slow is steady, steady is fast.

Not rushing a step is something I really struggled with in the beginning. My hands won't take the tooling, but I was rushing at other steps. And, it showed. Now I force myself to take my time, even walk away and smoke for a minute.

Doing small batches helps to slow down.

Yep, I sometimes get excited about an idea and want to just throw together an example to see how it would work, with the intention of taking my time and doing a "good" one afterwards.  I've been doing this off and on for 40 years, mostly off, and I still get excited pounding on leather. : )

[bikermutt07]

I've only been at it about 3.5 years. But there was probably almost 2 years of breaks in that time. I'm a late bloomer and a procrastinator.

[Texson]

11 hours ago, Texson said:

Thanks, Gary!  Used 4-5 oz shoulder I think (just something I picked up at Tandy), white waxed thread from Tandy, and finished with Eco Flow Tan Gel Antique. 

Oh, and backed with suede.

[Texson]

17 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

I've only been at it about 3.5 years. But there was probably almost 2 years of breaks in that time. I'm a late bloomer and a procrastinator.

My grandfather introduced me to it when I was 9, and I did it throughout the summers as a teen, but then got away from it for awhile.  I did it occasionally during my 20 years in the Air Force but usually was short of time, money, or room to work.  I got back into after I retired from the Air Force about 10 years ago but then got married and went back to the off/on cycle.  I'm back on again now and hope to stick with it this time.  But I'm also a procrastinator and easily distracted.

[bikermutt07]

Procrastination is so easy when you make a mistake on a project that you have already invested yourself in.

I have 2 card wallets, and a passport case that have contributed to at least 6 months worth of procrastination.

Edited January 23, 2018 by bikermutt07