Simple Celtic Bracelet

A charming little commission for a simple little bracelet.  The idea was the client could thread the lace through the bracelet and tie it into place on their wrist.  No need to fuss with careful sizing or complicated fastners.

Coasters, D&D

A long time ago someone suggested I develop some D&D themed coasters (Thanks Runkle!) and it's been sitting on my To Prototype list for a least a year.  With the new printer I realized I could finally crank out a product worth adding to the store and before I'd technically finished the prototype it had already sold.

The coasters are sold as a set of five, each with a different bit of art.  There's the ever popular Yawning Portal, the head of the demon on the cover of the original DMG, Bahamut's emblem, the D&D ampersand, and WotC's Wizard logo.  And each coaster has a tray just large enough to hold a standard set of dice.  They have a little extra finish on them to repel condensation and the plastic's thick enough to be pretty sturdy.  So now they have a permanent listing up here.

Matching Custom Bracelets

I don't do jewelry/accessories too often but it was a fun challenge to design a pair of bracelets to meet the client's specs and budget.  In hindsight I think it might've been ok to use a thicker leather but I'm pretty content with how these came out.

Pencil Case, Mouse

This pattern is nifty enough I might tweak it into normal production (minus the Mickeys).  The client was looking for a birthday gift for their daughter who has a special attachment to her Mickey mouse journal.  The elastic band should just slide over the cover of the journal and the coloring/design are a pretty close match.

Talk Nerdy Bookmarks

Some while ago I was happy to make a bulk order of bookmarks for the Talk Nerdy podcast.  Earlier this year the host, Cara Santa Maria, contacted me about refilling her stock.  We decided to switch up the sizing and design a bit and I think the end result is much better for it.  We'd started talking back in March but then I moved and then Ms. Maria moved and then there was a trip to Alberta so it wasn't until July that I was able to really get started.

When I made the first batch it took a lot longer than I expected since I was still figuring out tap offs and hadn't had much experience with bulk production.  I've picked up some tricks in the past couple years, not the least of which was 3D printing tap-offs.  I had some difficulty making a tap-off of the logo but that was entirely due to the modelling software.  It could have been done, but it wound up being faster (and better final result) to use an ink transfer for the logo.

This was the first project I could really use my new casing chest on and if anything it may be working too well.  Water's been beading up on the interior like I was brewing tea in there.  It worked pretty excellent for keeping the leather cased though.

Staining was a nice mix of tinting and resisting to create three tones.  A brush might've had an easier time keeping the resist "between the lines" but I prefer the cleaner application of a swab for this sort of thing.

I rather happy with the final result.  The staining has just enough "gruff" that it's obviously been done by hand but doesn't look messy.  After a copious application of oils and beeswax these are some shiny bookmarks to go with the shiny science on Talk Nerdy. 

A Zappy Anniversary Card

Most of this week has been dedicated to finishing one giant order before we run off to PAX next week.  I was still able to squeeze in a quick order for a leather card.  In this case, the client and her husband will soon be celebrating their ninth anniversary (#9 being the leather one).  Her husband is a fan of many of the geek mainstays but with the movie just recently out Star Wars is topping his list at the moment.  Hence a fun little call-back to one of those lines that only Han Solo himself would be able to get away with...

Motorcycle Sit-upon

This was another commission for my brother-in-law's motorcycle following the nicely successive toolbox earlier this summer.  The idea was to add some padding to his motorcycle's seat and eventually we figured the best plan was to wrap some foam in leather and cinch it down using velcro straps.  He supplied the foam (which I gather began as a yoga mat) and I coerced some latigo into a housing.  That was particularly tedious since I was stitching through the foam itself.  Without access to all sides of the seam I had to find the underside of the holes by touch alone.  So the inner seam (which holds the top to the walls) took me about a day and a half.  The outer seam (through the lid, foam, and the bottom of the walls) took 8 days to finish.  Since it was a longer-term project I endulged in some Netflix whilst doing most of the stitching so put another way it took 4 action movies, the entire first season of Gothlam, and the first third of "Boneshaker" (a steampunk audiobook) to finish all that stitching.

I haven't heard back for how the seat rides just yet but it looks like it fits pretty swell.

60 Scarf Sliders

This was a relatively large order but since I'm only cutting and shaping the sliders it didn't take too much time.  They'll head out today and within a week I expect they'll arrive, ready to be stamped and stained by some scouts.  It's a pretty good deal all 'round.

More D&D Trading Cards

Just about a year ago I made one of our friends a "reminder" card to help him play a rogue.  He still brings that card to every game (and it did help quite a bit) but now that we've started a new campaign he's no longer playing a Rogue.  What's more, all of the players have something that's tended to slip their minds for the past couple sessions.  I still have plenty of 9oz leather left over from a side I picked up back in 2009.  What's left wouldn't really work for anything I was selling but it works just dandy for these trading card bits (for friends anyway).

While I was at it I took the opportunity to work on my technique with the alphabet stamps.  I'm reasonably content with my proficiency with the 1/4" stamps, but the 1/8" stamps were made in such a way that they defy the usual techniques for making the letters stay straight and even.   Conventionally, there's a "bottom" to the stamp indicated by a notch or tiny letter on the top of the stamp.  That way you can line them up with your line and they should all come out even.  With the 1/8" stamps though, the letters aren't equidistant from the notched side of the stamp.  The letter A might be 2mm above the notch and the letter T would be 4mm.  This seems inane to me and I can't imagine why they were made that way.

I had to invent a new technique by eye-balling the letter from the side to make sure it was upright in relation to the marker line and the appropriate distance from the previous letter.  It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than the last time I used them.  I wanted to paint them up a little so they'd stick out and gold paint goes pretty well on green.  I tried using a mechanical pencil to "write" the paint into the letters (they're too small for any of my brushes) but .5mm turns out to be too wide for that.  If I try that again I think it'd be worthwhile to pick up some toothpicks and try those.

Busy Week so far

It's only Tuesday and I've already knocked out three orders.  To be fair, none of them were particularly intensive though I did wind up clocking some "overtime".  I could've finished up the scarf slides tomorrow easily enough but I might have a big order starting tomorrow and wanted to clear the bench in case the client hits the purchase button.  If not then I can work on the map case.

The first two orders were a couple more shoulder straps (making a lot of those lately!) though one of them had the novelty of being mahogany brown instead of medium brown.  The pictures make it look pretty purple but that's mostly the lighting I think.  The third order came in from Twitter yesterday and includes two dozen "triangular scarf slides" for a cub scout leader down in the States.  I don't usually send items off unfinished but in this case the cub scouts will be doing the stamping and staining themselves (which is shiny!).  In researching the items all the scarf slides I could find were die-cut so I made sure to bevel these and give them a bit of a border so they have a little something the usual kits won't.  I went ahead and added them to the shop too because why not?  Maybe there'll be some other scout leader somewhere with a similar need.

Mason Jar Holster & Belt Loop

This was another case of a clever, unique idea coming from a commission.  In this case, one of my wife's co-workers requested a sort of holster for their mason jar.  I'm actually not sure if it should be called a holster or cozy or what, but holster seems to be sticking for now.  Some of the geometry was a little tricky to work out but I've been using the prototype for a few days now and it's pretty dang handy.  I made a little belt loop too so it can hang from my belt while I walk around PAX next week.  An excellent little project!