Ranger Saddles

Two posts in one day! How exciting!
Today I finally made myself sit down and start working on actual tack. My cosplay blog has been getting all the love lately as I'm trying to get a few projects ready for a convention in March...but tack must also be made!

As it happens, I have had five Ranger saddles (aka Scrap Leather Saddles) in my project box for quite a while. They were pretty close to finished...

 

But still required a lot of time-consuming gluing

 

Aside from cinches, I got the two black ones finished. 

I'm using a different saddle horn than I used to, but it's a bit faster and tidier than the method I had before. I've started to simply make a small hole in a strip of leather, and use a black bead as the horn, pushing one end through the hole. It looks odd but it's effective, and cuts down the time and frustration.

These saddles will be for sale as soon as they are completed.

Braymere Photo Challenge

 One of my favorite blogs is having a Winter Photo Challenge and I wanted to enter/procrastinate on my first day back at work making saddles.

This was certainly a challenge, with most of my horses and tack and props still in storage. But it was fun, and hopefully somewhat entertaining!

1. Vintage

Flik, my first ever custom, on the FAS mold, and the First Avenger

2. Nekkid

The emperor has no clothes but who will tell him otherwise?

3. Scale Issues

It's always the morning before the big show that you realize there's a problem.

4. I see spots

Was Liberty always that spotty?

5. Unbridled Passion

Lola and Firefly re-enact The Black Stallion

6. Rare Breed

The Rare "A Dog Used Me As A Chew Toy So I Got Etched All Over Spotted Metallic Warmblood"

7. Portrait

Portrait model of Moondreamer, the horse that taught me to ride

8. Conga

My Silver conga

9. The Great Outdoors

Trail ride!

10. Best in Show

I immediately thought of Sean and Rocky...

Thanks for having the photo challenge and good luck to all who entered!

Studio Setup

           After moving across 10 states in two weeks, I have finally reached the new (to me) apartment. It seems like I move every year or so lately, so I am ready to be in one place for a while!
            It's nice to see my horses again.

Silver conga! Kinda

Running horses are excited to be out of their storage boxes!

               And get my work area set up all in one place, instead of in three places spread out through my room...

It doesn't look like much now, but just wait until the desk is covered in tiny scraps of leather!

Unfortunately, this means that the one barn that survived the Great Redstone Manor Culling of 2014 has to be divided. One of the two stall sections ended up in the Breyer Tower bookcase, and the other ended up against the wall with the barn office section.

This barn is a survivor! It has been with me through all of my moves.

The carpet is brown and old and crappy, which displeases my roommate but makes me very happy.

The big struggle now is locating all of my tackmaking supplies and finding organized places to put them so that I can start working! I would love to start making some more tack again soon, definitely want to get some sales pieces up asap. 

I don't know when Redstone Manor videos will return, as it seems that some of my main characters decided to stay behind at the storage unit and will have to be shipped to me. I might possibly consider making tutorials. Maybe. Mayyyybee.