Practice for the Granddaughter's Christmas Present

[BrokenolMarine]

Got a call from my Teenaged Granddaughter. For Christmas, she want's a pouch and strap like I made for her mother. It would be perfect for carrying her phone and cash when she goes into town. I don't have to use the same pattern of tooling, just "Get Creative" if you like. She would like the tooled pouch though. I'm flattered.

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In preparation for the project, I have started practicing for the tooling and trying out various patterns. I tried a Hearts pattern and the Oak Leaf and Acorns. I haven't stained or antiqued them yet... but here are the roughs. These are just first attempts to get a feel. I didn't try and get the edges razor sharp, nor did I worry about perfection in the entire pattern. I will finish the roughs as far as dying or staining.

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I will be trying a few more until I decide, then will start on that project. I don't know if it will be a build along or if I'll just post the finished product.
Pouch and strap will basically follow the same path as Mom's did.

[GunnyGene]

Very nice work. Do you do magazine pouches for pistols?

[North Country Gal]

Very nice work. Do you do magazine pouches for pistols?

That's a great idea for those Glocks you shoot, Marine.

[GunnyGene]

Very nice work. Do you do magazine pouches for pistols?

That's a great idea for those Glocks you shoot, Marine.

I only have the one Glock, but have other makes that could also use some decent mag pouches for single and double stack mags.

[GFK]

Nice! What is her favorite thing? Maybe, that would be a good pattern as well?

[Hatchdog]

How wonderful that your granddaughter called and requested some of your work. Can’t beat that for a compliment of your labors.

[BrokenolMarine]

Very nice work. Do you do magazine pouches for pistols?

That's a great idea for those Glocks you shoot, Marine.

I only have the one Glock, but have other makes that could also use some decent mag pouches for single and double stack mags.

Check your pm's

[BrokenolMarine]

Nice! What is her favorite thing? Maybe, that would be a good pattern as well?

She has very eclectic tastes, but I mentioned a space (planets/stars) motif and her mom said her jaw dropped. I have been playing with that. It may be well beyond my skill levels to bring THAT to life. I would love to carve/tool that for her. I have been sketching it, but can't get it to pop.

[daytime dave]

Your leather work is worthy of a frame around it!

[BrokenolMarine]

Your leather work is worthy of a frame around it!

I don't know that I'd go that far, although once in a while... I get lucky.

[GFK]

Nice! What is her favorite thing? Maybe, that would be a good pattern as well?

She has very eclectic tastes, but I mentioned a space (planets/stars) motif and her mom said her jaw dropped. I have been playing with that. It may be well beyond my skill levels to bring THAT to life. I would love to carve/tool that for her. I have been sketching it, but can't get it to pop.

Seems like a winner. No pain, no gain.

[BrokenolMarine]

Spent the last few days working on the practice panels for the present. Now...these are practice panels for techniques and they are far from perfect and far from finished works. Some of the techniques weren't fully applied. For example, this first panel, is a floral carving and correctly finished the flower leaves would be more textured, before being painted. To be honest, I got distracted, and forgot. Hey, I'm old.

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This space panel, was a challenge. I screwed up the shooting star, but you can't take it back. Then, I tried to stain the panel and it looked awful. I painted it. Not too bad. Better after I stained the background black. I suppose it will look even better after a light antiquing tones down the paint a tad.

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The quilted panels need a certain accent in the points of the corners, but I don't have that stamp pair. The stamps are $40 each and I don't feel like spending that right now. (ever) Unless I find another (cheaper) stamp, my quilted pattern might be found wanting. Miss T told me to order the stamps and shut it. My hearing aide suddenly failed. (It's in the drawer, perhaps that's why.)

pattern 1

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pattern 2

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I like the classic oak leaf and acorn pattern often found on belts. Still working on the tooling here to bring this to life.
Tina likes it as well, but agrees it could use a bit more work, especially on background shading. I didn't put too much effort on this one in that area as it's a practice panel and I was more worried about the leaf and acorns... but... perhaps I should have.

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This last one is the one I think I'll end up going with. The hearts pattern. Everyone likes it. It's a pain in the bee-hind. It's not a HEART stamp. it's a border stamp, uniquely applied. Four stamps make up the heart. PITA, but the pattern is cool looking. placement and layout is critical for it to look good. So, guess I'll be going slow.

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I asked my daughter if the Granddaughter would prefer color, or just the golden oak, and antiqued treatment. (Natural finished.)
Natural. I was going to do red/pink hearts and dark background. Nope, natural.

Watch this space.

Comments?

[GFK]

Nice work! But, I am kind of liking the stars. It is something about the unknown that intrigues me. Yet, any of them is better than what I could do. They all are nice! So, it is hard to go wrong.