Ghost Wolf Ranch

A few more newbies

2012-01-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

The snow is all gone now, and it doesn't look like it will be back this week. So far this winter has been tame compared to last year's. (granted we started that winter in Kansas City, MO...)

So the new herd members got their show photos taken in the light box!

Dúlamán - Kerry Bog Pony colt.

This backdrop has been a favorite of mine for years. It blends nicely with the grass strip and the suede we use as footing. It works best for LittleBits/Pebbles scale and smaller, but it works well for Classic foals.

Starry Eyes Little Lady - Hackney Pony filly.

Ghost Wolf Godiva - American Miniature Horse mare.

Unfortunately there was a pesky glare from one of the table lights that made taking a picture of Godiva with the other backdrop, so she got the rinkydink printout. It looks realistic, but I like the blue sky and deep middle-ground of the other one better.

I also like to create backstories and personalities for my models every now and then. This time, my poor little Colorful Foals came to me as orphans. Dúlamán adopted Clementine (see the previous blog entry) as his mother (much to her annoyance, but she's too nice to turn him away), while Little Lady latched on to Godiva. (who took to foster motherhood with much more enthusiasm) Ah, happy endings.

Breyers in the snow

2011-12-30T17:28:00.000-08:00

Clementine- grade pony mare

Our new house has something that has worked out spectacularly well for the hobby- an uncluttered and stunning backdrop for show and sales photos! I've blogged about it before, but I just can't get over this gorgeous countryside that we now live in.

Hobbes- Hanoverian gelding

You have already seen some summer and fall shots in previous blog entries, since it's snowed a bit this past week, let's show off some winter shots!

Zeva- grade horse mare

The two mountains in the distance are about four miles away and are a part of the Green Mountain range. Across the street is a neighbor's field, this year the crop was soybeans.

Tabula Rasa- Appendix QH mare

And the road just behind the fence is a fairly major north-south route for people going to and from work. Picture taking is carefully planned since I use a timer (I use a wide depth of field) or else I get a blurred-out neighbor's car going by...

Wild Plum- Miniature/Welsh cross mare

Taking photos of dark models against light snow is a pain, but it can be done well.

Storm Phantom- Chincoteague mare

And taking photos of lighter colored models is quite a bit less hair-loss inducing.

Levi- Grade stallion

Although I did leave my alabaster and grey models inside for a later, indoor shoot.

Amazon Freckles- QH mare

Old Amazon here has been photo showing since the late 1990s with the same photo, shot with a film camera, which was taken in our San Antonio, Texas backyard. As fond as I am of that photo, I decided the old girl deserved a bigger, clearer photo. (unfortunately the original's hard copy was lost or else I'd re-scan it)

That's all for now, until next time!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good one. Here's my Christmas Breyer for this year (thank you Meredith!):

I've named her "Clementine", a nod to her rather orangey-shade of chestnut (and a Lost reference, I'm a die-hard fan, oh well :p) and she'll be shown as a grade pony mare in Trad scale. I also got Christmas money, so there will be some more new herd members along as soon as I decide what I want. Whee!

2011-10-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

~~Just a heads up on some new tack that is for sale on MH$P.~~ Sales include this red and gold neck bells set, this pink 'roo lace trail halter/bridle combo. These are currently on eBay.

This was a bridle I started at a get-together for Vermont and NY hobbyists in Colchester, and sort of rattled around my projects box for a few months. Still getting the hang of twisting floss, I would love to get that "spiral within a spiral" look I see on real mecate reins. Haven't found a method that works for that yet. Pooh.

Look for a whiskey and silver bells set later this week. :)

New tack body

2011-09-26T16:07:00.000-07:00

Been awhile since I bought a new model, and what fun it was to lie in wait for the mail truck again!

This handsome fellow is Stone's new Saddlebred mold, sculpted by artist Kathi Bogucki. Stone had several factory seconds on eBay at a reduced price, sold "as-is" with only the guarantee that he would come with a head, two ears, four legs, and a tail (!). And let me tell you- they weren't kidding. He looks fine from this angle, but up close... whoo. Prepper's nightmare. XD

But you can't beat paying $36 for a Traditional Bogucki sculpt! (trying not to notice that they dropped the price even more to $24... grr) I'm toying with the idea of having him painted eventually by my sister, but for now, he stays in his naked glossy white glory as a tack fitting body. Now he and my unpainted Palouse can start a nudist colony...

Knots to you, too

2011-09-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

I learned four new things with this bridle: the half round six braid, three strand twisted cord, how to make cheek attachments that tie instead of buckle, and the hackamore knot. I learned the first three fairly quickly, but the hackamore knot had me stumped for a while.

I had trouble just finding instructions for the thing, I found photos of the knot, videos that showed how to tie it (no good to me, I need high resolution illustrations to stare at) and instructions on how to tie the mecate rein (which I already know), but nothing on hackamore knots. Finally I found a site that said "oh, yeah, it's also known as a jug knot". Great! So it was off to Google instructions for "jug knots".

Two sites came up with good, clear images, two similar but slightly different methods that seemed like something I could grasp. So I picked one tutorial, and so began my sometimes plodding learning process where I basically stare at instructions for some time, fiddling with my practice cord, repeating each step until I feel like I had it right. Well, there was one step I just couldn't get right because of vague wording. (OK I "turn down" these loops, fine, but what the heck does "turn down" mean??) So I turned to the other tutorial.

This one was trickier, but I got the hang of it, right up until the next-to-last-step. Stumped again, but this time because I couldn't get it to work for me on such a small scale. The loops were simply too small to make the passes this tutorial was showing. This tutorial mentioned another term, "jar knot", so, in exasperation, I Googled this term.

Ah, much, much better. A good, clear tutorial popped up with instructions that I could get to work with small scale loops! Yay! I got my practice string to do it! Yay again! Now I had to do it with my braided length of linen thread bent double to create the loop I needed to tie the latch knot for the throatlatch. It took quite a bit of patience, since the doubled strands wanted to part every time I touched it, then once I got the knot I had to loosen and adjust to move it down and leave the braids long enough to pass over the crown and tie on the other side, but compared to the learning process, that was a piece of cake!

And voilà. It matches the Western set I did last year, dark brown and sandy tones are my favorite. You do have to untie the latch knot and the cheek knot in order to take it off, which is a PITA, but in my opinion the look is worth it.

I do get a kick out of the fact that there is no metal on this bridle. (well, except for the aluminum wire core in the bosal, but it doesn't count ;p )

~~This bridle is for sale on MH$P for $70 ppd, hopefully I will get some nicer outside photos in the future.~~

~~ETA 9/22- bridle is now on eBay.~~ SOLD! Outdoor photos can still be seen here.

Until next time!

Pre-Irene skies and a "new" model

2011-08-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Pretty spectacular sunset last night with the outer edges of Irene's clouds starting to pass overhead!

Right now it's a steady rain with some wind gusts. We're supposed to get stronger winds this afternoon into evening, hopefully it won't knock out power.

In model news, I donated several items to the raffle at Melissa Addison's American Heartland Live (Platte City, MO) just before our move to VT, and put most of my tickets in for this handsome fellow:

Besixdouze, Belgian Brabant stallion

SO happy to have won him! Big thank you to Cassie Black for donating him, and to Melissa for holding AHL. I wish I could have attended one more time, it was a fun show every year.

Well, he'll be a Region X showhorse, now. :)

Until next time!

Open House at the UVM Morgan Horse Farm

2011-08-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

The UVM Morgan Horse Farm had a free open house on Wednesday, so we stopped by for an hour or two. I would have liked to stay longer, but everyone else was hungry for lunch (and tbh, so was I) so this is what I got.

Enjoy!

Before I switched to the "speed" setting on the camera. Actually,
I like how this came out.

This is the second time this week I've seen a bridle with what
looks like a sidecheck rein hook on the crown. The other was
on a Percheron being ridden at the county fair (photos
from that later).

The horses were being shown off in the paddock out front with
an announcer talking about each horse. Not a good photo-
taking vantage point.

So I moved up toward the barn and took photos by the path
being used to bring the horses out.

Some misbehaving by the barn.

This guy kept neighing back at someone
in the barn. Stall buddy? Girlfriend?

Mr. Loudmouth had a white spot on his butt. Birdcatcher spot?

Oh, ladies!

One of the weanlings was very curious about us.

Wha? Oh, you're over there now.

Shot of the barn with the Justin Morgan statue out front

That's all for today!

Red zebra halter

2011-07-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well I just got her in a trade and I had some red leather lace lying around. Thank you to Jennifer Buxton's blog entry on rolled throatlatches! That was easier than I thought it would be!

It is for sale on MH$P.

In other news, we've been growing vegetables out back, and I picked our first tomato yesterday!

Not much to look at, but I'm proud all the same. We cut it up and split it between the three of us as a pre-dinner snack. One word: delish!

And I'll leave you with a panorama shot out front. They're long here, but those shadows of the house and the trees can stretch almost to those trees in the distance, which are about a mile away, before the sun disappears over the hill.

Dogs and props

2011-06-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

I love collecting in-scale dogs, not just Breyers but also Hagen-Renakers, various MIJ and MIC chinas and resins, and, as with "Dobby" the Pug up there, Schleich toys. Not all Schleichs are made equal, in fact many are very toyish, but enough are realistic enough that the brand should not be overlooked. They also make cats, poultry, goats, and other pets and farm animals.

They can make for cute interaction with the main subject. Titania always has her photo taken with her pal Bailey.

And they make nice background additions, like Bailey and Dobby watching Merlin doing some free jumping.

A note on non-animal props: I'd been looking for a way to show Merlin in halter, since just having him positioned in the setting jumping nothing would have looked a little strange, at least in a "realistic" setup. (and I'm not much of a fan of neutral, "artsy" backdrops, at least not for conformation classes) Photos of horses free-jumping solved that problem. I took two empty cans that were destined for the trash: a small evaporated milk can, and a vienna sausage can. The wrappers and glue were removed, the cans washed, then spray-painted in stable colors. Topped it off with a cavaletti off an old Breyer jump and Merlin had his jump.

Not much else to post about this time, so I'll leave you with some baby Friesians and their mothers. They live along the route we take to get to the store and where my sister works. Aww!

New photo backdrop

2011-06-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

The view from the front porch at our house is just stunning, nothing but fields and forest all the way to the mountains 4 miles away. Unfortunately most of our yard is on a downhill slope so finding some level ground on which to set up a photo table was a chore. I finally found a good spot in the side yard and set up to take some sales photos as well as some new show photos. This setup works great for Traditionals, I'm still working on adjusting table and tripod heights for smaller scales.

Enjoy!

Christian taking Freckles Outlaw for a spin.

Really love how this one came out!

And Freckles after she ditched her rider and somehow

wiggled out of her tack... she's rather exasperating that way

Cleopatra takes her invisible English rider out for a ride. I need more English dolls...

Cleo's halter shot.

Cleo's son Kharavanserai

Riddle gets a new halter photo after 11 years. His gloss makes
photography pretty difficult, but the overcast conditions were
just right for keeping out those pesky glare spots.
I'm very pleased with how this came out.

A few more:

September Shadows, a Colorado Rangerbred.

Lady Charlotte, who shows well as a Standardbred.

Copper Chime, a QH mare and apparently the name of an Indian
cuisine restaurant in Christchurch, New Zealand.

White feet are sometimes a problem with the camera exposure blowing them out. Reducing light intake on the camera helps but sometimes makes everything else too dark. I have a Photoshop lighting and layers trick that I use instead, which I will be sharing in a later post.

Oh, and the bridle and bareback set pictured are for sale on MH$P.

Until next time!

Simple is nice

2011-04-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

Especially when I've been working my fingers off on harnesses.

Although I had to put a buckle on the lead. Because it looks nicer than just a foldover, and because I can.

New tack from old material

2011-03-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

I decided the bridle from the previous post needed some sprucing up (Rio Rondo conchos on the browband brads and bit), and something to go with it so it would be a complete performance package.

I do have a saddle in the works, but I'd come across some online photos of real bareback riding pads with latigo ties, and I had to try it in miniature. The "natural" 3/16 width lace I had on hand just wasn't accepting dye well (it has a glaze finish to it), so to make the overgirth and latigo straps I cut strips from some nice russet color garment leather I have on hand (same leather I cut the rein poppers from).

I've had this particular garment leather hide for almost 20 years. I bought it at the San Antonio, TX Tandy Leather store as a teenager and made some of my very first (very crude and long ago thrown away in disgust) saddles with it. I gave up on tackmaking for awhile, tried to sell the hide but there were no takers. So it was folded up and stored with Mom's sewing scraps.

It's held up very well, hasn't dried out or stiffened. When I started making harnesses thirteen years ago I found a use for it again as blinker lining, it's the perfect color. I still use it mostly for just that, but occasionally, as shown here, I find another use for it. I've still got several square feet of it left, so there's many blinkers still to be made. I hope, when this one does run out, I find another one as nice.

Set is for sale at MH$P.

A couple new tack items and some silly pics from the Chili Fest

2011-03-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

These are for sale, you can see them here at my MH$P page.

GG Valentine and her foal Heartbreaker are such fun to build tack on. (apologies for the text in the first photo, it's a sales photo). I really like the pearl thread for making braided reins, it looks much neater than DMC floss somehow. And I've started threading leather end poppers instead of simply tying off the braid and making a tassle, as well as making leather buckle attachments on the bit ends:

A matching set of halters...

The mare's is actually from 2010, and was made for the FAM. Yep. Tack made on the Family Arabian Mare will fit the GG Valentine mold, too. The adjustable chin and jaw straps probably help...

The foal's comes with a "catch me" strap instead of an actual lead, but I will make a lead with hook for $1 extra on request.

And now for some shots from last weekend's Winter Carnival and Chili Fest in downtown Middlebury! We decided to take Penny the Breyer Basset Hound along just for the lulz and some silly shots.

Signing in for our "chili taster" badges:

First booth, Two Brothers' Tavern's beef chili. Hmmm. Hot!

Next was the Three Sisters' seafood chili. Yum, calamari!

Stopped to chat with a fellow canine:

"So then I was, like-"

"...and then she was all-"

Had to get a shot with the girl in the chili pepper costume:

And the fire truck!

"Only you can prevent forest fires."

Then we walked over to the Marble Works via the Otter Creek bridge. Enjoying the view with Mom and Meredith:

"You shall not pass."

Then it was time to head home. "Oh, drat these darn snow storms. Anyone got a shovel?"

A couple of new horses and a little improvising

2011-01-25T16:25:00.000-08:00

I got some belated Christmas money and added a couple of new horses to the herd. I've been wanting GG Valentine and Heartbreaker for awhile now, mostly for tackmaking, but also because I love Eberls and this is the only way I can afford them at the moment.

This is Cleopatra, a new body for an old ID that once belonged to a "Tara" CWP (who is now re-ID'd as one of Cleo's daughters):

And her son "Kharavanserai":

The new place offers some nice outdoor photo backdrops, unfortunately at this time of year the sun's position in the sky tends to cast tree shadows everywhere. These were taken in the driveway in about a five foot long and four foot wide patch of shadow-free sun. The foreground "snow" is simply a white bath sheet.

And since my hobby tables were still packed at the time I took these, I had to improvise the platform a bit and used a TV tray table, a keyboard tray taken off a long-gone computer desk, and perched them both somewhat precariously atop a cooler. I think it all worked out, but I also think I'll bring home those folding tables on our next trip to the storage unit...

Shots from around our new home

2011-01-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

We've moved to Vermont during these past few weeks, so Ghost Wolf Ranch, Dragon Ridge Studios/aka my sister Meredith, and our mother all now resides in Middlebury, VT. :) Oh, yes, and Si the cat, who turned out to be quite a good traveller! (now every time I pick up the carrier he comes running and hollering to go for a car ride!)

My supplies are currently in storage and will probably stay there until sometime later this week or early next, so I won't be working on tack until then.

Here's some shots of the gorgeous scenery we have up here. The mountains are called the Green Mountains. Enjoy!

Last tack of 2010

2010-12-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Body bells for Salinero. He looks snazzy in red and silver, doesn't he?

Closeup of the buckle. The customer wanted a snug fit for the bells since she will be showing without a vehicle (no shafts to wrap around), but just in case she gets one, they can be adjusted outward.

And a foal halter for the same customer. Since I don't own the mold I had to make this on measurements only, hopefully that will be remedied soon.

I don't know if I will update this before the move, but if I don't, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! :)

A couple more photos!

2010-12-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

The set looked so good on Rachel Alexandra I had to get a couple of photos.

A big thank you to the set's new owner! I hope you enjoy it!

All done!

2010-12-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

And somehow Ayala the Stone Palouse manages to get yet another tack set fitted to her! Oh, well. Her classic champagne tobiano color goes well with a lot of tack, and old Amazon was getting tired of all that fitting, anyway. ;p

Anyway. On to the tack.

The saddle is still adjustable down to Roxy and Lady Phase, but the headgear is not. The entire set does fits Ruffian/Rachel Alexandra (pictures to come soon).

I'm especially pleased with the latigo cinch. It's a challenge, sure, but I like the look better than just putting a billet there. I like a challenge.

Wow, I got that fender to swing pretty far back.

Now I might like a challenge, but potential new owners may not, so the right side buckles with plain old billets to spare any new owner's sanity. :p

The tiedown has a sliding keeper to tighten or loosen the noseband as needed.

The heart browband conchos are paper brads. I think they go nicely with the heart motif Rio Rondo bit. Bleed knots decorate the cheek straps. The reins are braided from the same pearl thread as the cinch and breastcollar. The rein buckle attachments have a little wire hook for easy removal. I like making those tiny little hooks, believe it or not...

Some more outside shots:

The saddle blanket is the same sand colored suede as the seat. And there's the white fleece pad under that.

A study of the saddle strings. I see a spot that needs a little touching up...

And Christian and Ayala are off to round up some cows! Or the cat, whichever they encounter first.

This set is for sale on MH$P at $300 ppd to the US, $310 international, to help fund our move to Vermont (Region 10! Whee!). I can accept Paypal only, I would do a partial trade of $275 plus Breyer's new Valentine and Heartbreaker set #1474 (matte or glossy, mint condition).

ETA 12/08/10 set is SOLD! :D

That's all for now!

A couple more saddle photos

2010-11-30T20:01:00.001-08:00

Saddle is done, and I'm starting on the tiedown here. I added a fleece pad to go under the suede blanket to help the saddle fit narrower models like the Stone ISH.

More Western saddle pics

2010-11-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

I hope my American readers had a great Thanksgiving! Dad and Grandma visited and we had a wonderful time.

Here are some more photos of my in-progress Western set, it's come along a ways since last time.

Still need to add the girth connector strap and the rear saddle strings.

Fender swung back to show the left cinch strap. The saddle strings are on the short side, but as far as I can tell there's no set length, on real saddles I see short strings, medium strings, and strings that go on for miles. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, though. (I just hate the idea of re-threading those things...!)

I went with a straight cantle instead of a Cheyenne roll. I just like the look better!

There's a wire that runs under Amazon's belly that's holding the fenders down. Still haven't trained the things.

And as you can see, I've woven a breastcollar and cinch for this set. The colors don't match perfectly, but at least they're in the same tonal range. The woven chest strap was my own addition, patterned after real b/cs, I liked the look better than simply stringing a piece of lace onto the center ring. I still need to work on getting the lower end to taper to a thinner point. BIG thank you to Rio Rondo for their nifty little booklet!

Until next time!

Quick pre-Turkey Day post

2010-11-24T15:23:00.000-08:00

I finally got the courage and the supplies to try my hand at a woven string cinch (had Rio Rondo's book for years LOL). This is the first one, I also made a cinch and breastcollar to match my Western set. Weaving on diamond patterns is still eluding me and soldering the jump rings is a pain (the only solder I had was the "heavy duty" stuff RR doesn't recommend!), but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'll have photos of the second set as soon as the camera battery charges.

I hope everyone who celebrates it has a great Thanksgiving, and everyone else has a great weekend. :) I spent a good chunk of the day baking oatmeal cranberry cookies, now I'm sitting here smelling all kinds of delicious food cooking upstairs, and I will be able to eat none of it until tomorrow afternoon. The torture!

Silent Saturday!

2010-11-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

No, not really.

Here's some in-progress photos of the Western saddle I've been working on. Those fenders kind of make it look like poor Katie's got a really, really impatient rider. ("training" fenders and skirts to lie flat is one of my least favorite parts of tackmaking)

After some trouble getting the fork assembly to stay glued on (finally fixed with Loc-Tite, I think it was the cold making the original glue brittle?), I devised a different method for securing the seat to the skirt. Susan Bensema-Young's method of using wire to secure her saddle pieces was the inspiration, but since I'm working with a resin tree, I borrowed my sister's Dremel.

I drilled four holes in the seat, with recessed grooves connecting each side, then four more behind the cantle. Then after some careful positioning, I poked the tailor's awl through the seat holes to mark the leather, then punched holes through. Then it was a matter of threading 32 gauge wire through the holes and pulling tight, and then twisting and and flattening the wire ends. (they're covered by the chamois and a bit of undyed skiver). The cantle was tied down using waxed thread. And here's the result:

The recessed grooves are so the wire doesn't stick up under the seat covering. I will probably have to file the wire down anyway (flattening it with the hammer made it less pliable).

(earlier photo) Another reason I went with wiring: the fenders are strung onto hammered aluminum rings sewn on to the skirts. I do this because you can rotate the fenders back to fiddle with the girth (not as far as this once the seat and jockeys are attached :p). I also had to hollow out the tree with a sanding drum to accommodate the extra bulk. I don't think glue would have worked with all this, or at least not well.

The girth on the left side is tied at the moment with a latigo knot, though once I've got the holder in place I'll thread it through that. I hope I can muster the courage to try making a woven string cinch and breastcollar for this set, but for now I just made a nice leather girth.

I also made some skiver "gloves" for the fender buckles to keep the tongues from scratching the model. I really want to try the mini Blevins buckles that TWMHC/ALE Ranch is selling. Really cool that someone has made them for the hobby!

And I'll leave you with another new herd member:

Red roan suits this mold nicely!

Halter and some other critters

2010-10-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

First off, a black and silver stock breed halter made for the Stone ISH, for sale for $30 ppd.

The strap tips are 18 gauge aluminum wire hammered flat and filed to shape. The cheek silver is embossing aluminum with tooling and purple 5ss size Swarovski crystals.

Since that's all the tack I have to show off at the moment, how about some non-equine figurines from my collection:

"Ingrid"

I don't actually own this one anymore, I sold her to a collector in Spain several weeks ago. But she was so darn cute I had to include her. I showed her as a Pietran sow. She was a MIC resin found at a flea market in New Braunfels, Texas.

"Miakoda"

A Hagen-Renaker mini buffalo. I got him one day walking back to work from from lunch. Work was located just a block or two away from the San Antonio Riverwalk in Texas, and you could take a shortcut through several little shops located below street level, overlooking the riverwalk. That was one of the nicest places I ever worked.

"Spirit"

A H-R Papa Wolf, and my stable mascot. :) He was sadly attacked by an enraged Breyer unicorn one day and broke three legs. He's been repaired, but there was a chip lost out of his right front leg. I've never been able to find one of these with this kind of detailing.

"Sarabi"

A chalky Breyer Elephant. She came sealed in her box with a catalog from 1976! Since 2002 I've seen several of these on eBay, as well as at many antique malls around Kansas City, MO (just saw one last month, in fact!). Someone here in KC had attended a warehouse sale downtown and bought several cartons of elephants, all sealed in their boxes. According to the vendor, they were sold at the 1976 Republican National Convention, held at Kemper Arena, so I guess these were the leftovers. Now I wonder if there are any chalky Breyer Donkeys from the '76 DNC floating around NYC... hmmm.

Top row left to right: Tabitha, Little Orphan Annie, Rishi, and Scar;
Bottom row: Fraidy, Cissie, Marmalade, Smudge, and Uncle Bob.
(yeah, I named a few after dear old kitty friends who have shared our home.
It's how I remember them.)

Because no barn, real or model, is complete without barn cats, right? :D Most are either Schleich or H-Rs, the three matching tabby and white kitties are hand-painted pewter and came from Germany. The kitten... oh, wait, you can't see her? She's on the tack trunk, next to the left front paw of Rishi the tiger cub. :p OK, here's a closeup:

As I was saying, "Annie" is only slightly bigger than a penny:

I showed her once in a live show that was offering an "other animals" division, and she won Reserve Champion Other Animal. She really was dwarfed by that rosette she won...

And here's one that actually belongs to my mother, but I had to include him:

This is a George Good "I 'heart' My Cat" series porcelain, found at an antique mall in the same shopping center as our local Tandy store. He's not in scale to Breyers, but how could we not bring him home? It's a Si figurine!

Until next time!

Sunday edition

2010-10-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

First off, I discovered that the halter that I made for the Stone Weanling, also fits Breyer's Stormy. And I think it actually looks better on her. It is for sale on eBay.

Oh, and jsyk I can use ^ this backdrop ^, with some foreground adjusting, for everything from Trad size foals like Sandpiper up there, to Stablemates and Micro Minis like Aunt Pat and Cassidy here:

Too small for Trad adults, though.

I'm also attempting my third Rio Rondo Western saddle kit. How I love these things! After making the first two pretty much by the book, I decided to try out their alternate patterns. And I'm also dying them to a mahogany color, and the seat and stirrup treads will be sand colored suede. Still not quite ready to tackle tooling, though, so I just stuck with stitchmarking.

The skirt pattern I've chosen uses cinch rings instead of slots. In a DIY mood, I rummaged around in a box of supplies that I'd accumulated over the years, but hadn't used much, and turned up a spool of 18 gauge (or "guage" as its spelled on the packaging :D) aluminum wire.

Next I needed to hammer it flat. A jeweler's hammer and anvil would come in handy for this, but I don't own either of those. So two hammers from the toolkit would have to do, one to hammer, and one to take the place of the anvil:

Put some papers under the red hammer to pad the table (which is already a battered old thing, don't try this on a nice table!) and gently tapped away. It takes some doing to get even flattening, and I'm still getting the hang of it. But here you go:

Now I actually form the rings first, then hammer them. And I form them at the end of a fairly long piece of wire (longer than the examples here!) so I can safely hold them while hammering. I need flat wire, not flat fingers.

Here's the d-rings attached to the main skirt.

I've since redone the cinch straps so they're removable. This will be a ranch or trail saddle, nothing flashy but will have saddle strings and an extra D-ring on the pommel for a rifle scabbard. This was inspired by some of the real saddles at the Texas Ranger museum, which I blogged about in March.

That's all for now!

Fall is fell

2010-10-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

I ordered a yard of of the pink 'roo lace from Australia, then as I was taking an inventory for another order, I came across a couple feet of lace from a previous order. Oh, well, can't have too much of something that takes a month to ship, right? So I made a halter for the Stone Weanling. It's for sale $25 ppd First Class, Paypal or MOs. If it doesn't sell by Sunday, it's going up on evilBay.

In kitty news, Si has a new "jacket" harness from Met Pet. We've tried other harness options and he's wiggled his way out of all of them. This one seems determined to stay put, and Si is slowly but surely (with lots of complaining!) coming around to having it on. He gets to go outside as a treat when he accepts it, and he's getting the idea.

Here he is on his way downstairs...

Gives the car a butt slam and a tail rub on the way out...

And a nice roll on the warm pavement, surrounded by his favorite "salad", dried leaves. And it being fall and all, there's an abundance of them in the driveway. Heaven for a leaf-muncher like Si! (no, we don't let him eat them, but he sure loves to try....)

That's old Allie's leash that she used for many years. The weight really irritates him, though, so we're looking to get one that's a lighter weight.

I've got several model "barn cats" on the shelves, I wonder if I could do one of these in miniature. Hmm...

And so it started...

2010-10-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Going through some old photos from our childhood, I found one of a couple of funny-looking kids (aka my sister and me) getting their first Breyers for Christmas 1984 when they lived in Mackenbach, Germany.

The Base Exchange at Ramstein Air Base had three of them in stock, the other being the sorrel ASHF. Meredith and I took a shining to the other two, and while Mom distracted us, Dad sneaked them up to the cashier and out to the car. Poor Mom and Dad, they just didn't know what they were starting...

Mine (on the right) was the Action Stock Foal in grey appaloosa, and Meredith's was the same mold in bay pinto. Their names were/are Napa and Pint. We still have both of them, though little Napa has been missing an ear for a long time. (long story involving paper pegasus wings and being tossed off the top of the refrigerator...)

And just for the heck of it, here are the two kittens we got a year and three quarters later in the fall of 1986:

That's Cinder (later known as Cissie) in front, and her brother Marmalade in back. Their mother belonged to my Dad's boss.

OK, back to tack next time!

A couple more new herd members...

2010-10-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well one newbie, anyway, I hadn't shown off a full body shot of Meandering yet...

And here's a model I feel like I've been searching for all year (probably because I have...):

I put a whole mess of the new mold WEG SMs on preorder when they were first announced, then the dealer wrote me up saying the shipping had been delayed for several months and we cancelled the deal. Then when they were finally released I had NO MONEY to spend on them, and then when I finally got some money, it seemed like every dealer who actually had these guys in stock wanted $11 shipping UPS, or the ones that did ship Priority Mail didn't bother answering my emails. I finally found one who had some in stock, charged a reasonable shipping rate, AND answered emails! Yay! I've named him "Fords Gotta Gun" after another of my favorite Lost characters. :p

And wouldn't you know, we happened to visit the local dealer today who hasn't had new Breyers in like forever, and by God they had FOUR of these in stock! Oh, well, more for Meredith to paint...

Oh, and I have a whole mess of Sulser Saddlery brass hames sitting on my desk right now, courtesy TWMHC on eBay. Whatever could they be for, I wonder...?

New stuff to work with

2010-10-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

The other day I got a Breyer Hickstead in a trade, and a spool of black 'roo lace from Australia arrived in the mail. (NICE stuff with a smooth, tight grain, I'm ordering from these guys from now on)

The Hickstead, a special run produced on the Big Ben mold, was a necessary addition. I'd gotten a custom order for tack for this mold, and I didn't own one. The woman trading with me offered me several different Big Bens, and I'm glad I picked this fellow. So handsome in his glossy, just slightly metallic golden bay with gorgeous tri-eyes! I've named him"Meandering", after a character in one of my favorite webcomics.

For this custom order I would also need some metal accents that my usual sources did not supply, so the next day, armed with a fistful 40% percent off coupons, I went craft store hunting. I had read Jennifer Buxton/Braymere's blog post on embossing metal (thank you Jennifer! :) ), and it sounded like something I could work with. The first stop, Hobby Lobby, only turned up this product in silver and copper, and I needed gold. So it was off to JoAnne's next. Bingo! They had super thin (40 gauge!) embossing aluminum in many colors, including a bright yellow-gold. Excellent.

I wanted to experiment first, though, see how it cut, which glues were best, and seeing as all these new toys had come together in such a timely manner, Meandering was picked to wear a black snaffle bridle with gold accents, using the new 'roo lace and the metal for browband and noseband accents.

The best way I've found to cut a straight, narrow strip is to use scissors, not an Exacto blade. Somehow I just couldn't get it aligned properly, and it came out jagged. Fortunately I have an old pair of sewing scissors that was otherwise being retired in favor of a sharper pair.

It was also a chance to practice splitting the browband to go around BB's rather inconvenient forelock. (I love Kathleen's Breyers, but sometimes they can be aggravating to work with...)

The metal helps the split browband keep its shape, too (it still needs sticky wax to hold it in place). The only drawback is that the top color can be rubbed and scratched if it's handled too roughly. But I think it doesn't require any more careful handling than most small tack pieces. Don't get glue or sticky wax on it!

I'm also working on getting fancier reins on my bridles as well as my harnesses, instead of just gluing a foldover. So buckles were installed (rein hooks are still too frustrating for me), as were rein stops. I loved the smooth grain of the lace so much that I didn't lace these reins as I usually do. And I made the bit hangers adjustable on the bit end as well.

I like how it came out, but I think I will go back for the classic gold shade I saw on the shelf. It matches Rio Rondo's gold hardware better. And perhaps I'll pick up some other colors. Peter Stone's new "Ringo" Saddlebred looks like he could use a nice Weymouth bridle with a nice, metallic red or blue browband. (anyone want to trade? :) )

Until next time, when hopefully I'll have some in-progress photos of my custom order (it's a doozie, bigger than I've ever done before. Eep!).

(and before I sign off, this bridle is for sale on MH$P)

Guess I could update this blog, right? (IMG heavy!)

2010-10-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

So let's show off some tack and some new herd members, shall we?

First up is custom order harness #1, a large-ish Trad scale breastcollar style harness with collar bells.

A study of the breeching and saddle. The buckle is on the crupper top/backstrap base instead of on the backstrap between the saddle and crupper. This is a new design based on a photo I found online, I like it!
The blinker stays are another new design based on another photo found on the internet, instead of splitting 1/8 lace I just take a single length of 1/16th and loop a strap of 3/32 around the midway point, which buckles to the crown piece. Makes adjusting a little easier IMO.

A study of the main lines and checkrein and how they attach to the bit.

A study of the collar bells buckle. I do love these little craft bells, but since many real life collar bells vary in size (smallest at the ends, largest toward the middle), I'm trying to figure out how to make my own. Rio Rondo's concho doming article gives me some ideas...

Custom order harness #2.

Look the same as the first? Well, it might be hard to tell from photos on some monitors, but it's actually dark mahogany and not black. Yeah. I'm going to be working on patterns to get some slightly different shaped saddles, blinkers, etc in the future so I'm not just making clones. :p

I used the same "saddle tan" garment leather that I use for blinker lining to line the saddle here.

And now for a bosal and a halter. (I really love the Stone Palouse mold, can you tell? :) Though her mane makes fitting anything that crosses her withers a pain.)

I got two Amazon gift certificates and some birthday money a couple of weeks ago, so I was able to add some new members to the stables and kennels. (and Lost season 1 on DVD, too)

"Northern Raven", OM TB mare, garage sale find.

"Hello Darling" G2 WEG TB.
My sister actually won him along with an Esprit in the Blab Birthday drawing,
but she gave him to me as an early birthday present. Thanks, Meredith! *hugs*

"Stop it Ron", OP G1 Citation, found at the same garage sale as Raven.
I was watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while I was trying to think up names for my new SMs, so I used lines from the movie that made me laugh. :D I think that will be the naming rule for my male TBs.

"Ghost Wolf Tell Me No More Lies", Breyer SR liver spot Dalmatian. (another naming rule, all the Dalmatians get "Miss Suzie" song related names)

"Kamots", Schleich Wolf Cub. A lot of the Schleich puppies are in scale to the adult Breyer canines...

"Chemukh", Breyer Wal-Mart SR black wolf.

And last but not least, my Breyer Rachel Alexandra. I've been wanting a Ruffian mold for performance showing, but so far I've been "meh" on the color choices. I liked Rags To Riches, but when Breyer announced RA I knew I had to get one. Such a gorgeous bay with lovely markings! I still want a RTR, though, "Katie" here needs a friend to race her. :)

That's all for now! Well, maybe not, Mom just walked in with a package for me... and it's a trade model I've been expecting! I have a Hickstead now! Yay! Pictures to come soon.

Until next time!

Addendum to last Tuesday's post

2010-03-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

There was a placard that went with the Mexican vaquero saddle display in the previous post, which I thought had some interesting info:

The text reads:

"The Mexican vaquero saddle, developed from the 16th century Spanish military saddle, was widely used in early Texas and the American southwest. As the region became more settled, ranchers and Rangers began adapting this saddle to better meet their needs. Combining elements from English, cavalry, and vaquero styles created a more efficient and comfortable saddle for long periods of riding.

Early vaquero saddles were held on the horse by a single cinch located at the front of the saddle. Texans added a second cinch at the rear of the saddle for safety and stability. As the needs of Rangers and other horsemen changed, leather ties, straps, and buckles were added to the saddle to hold extra equipment, bedrolls, spare clothing, and other necessities. Rangers would sometimes remove or muffle buckles and metal parts of horse tack that might give away their position."

And you'll notice the saddle with the rifle scabbard in the previous post does indeed have an extra ring on the shoulder. Neato.

Now wouldn't someone like Smart Chic Olena or Lone Star look cool tacked up as a Texas Ranger's mount, out patrolling the prairie and brush country looking for bad guys? I smell a future live show setup...

It's Taciturn Tuesday! (IMG INTENSIVE)

2010-03-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

(because it's too early for Wordless Wednesday and I won't have time to post tomorrow :p)

A 1940's Mexican saddle from the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco, TX. (feel free to save to your reference folder)

A saddle with a rifle scabbard (sorry to say I didn't get a good shot of the info placard):

Another saddle with a ring set in the shoulder to hold the rifle scabbard:

A Plains saddle repro:

An (almost) Wordless Wednesday of my own...

2010-01-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

A custom order.

For sale on eBay.

Fun with model horses in the snow

2010-01-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

2010 so far has been cold and snowy. Brr. But still I had to get a couple of snow shots with Amaranth, my usual snow model. The mold's wild, windblown look lends itself perfectly to these kinds of shots.

A couple more from over the years, this one from 2005, with her mate Redtail:

And in 2002 with Dana, ponying Carnelian out to Christian, who seems to have gotten the ranch truck stuck in a snow drift (this was a multi-TOPSA winner back in the day) :

This was well before I started making Western saddles (indeed, any saddles at all!), the saddle on Amaranth is a Rio Rondo kit assembled by Kim Janes, the pad by Deb Messner(sp?), and the saddle and pad on Carnelian were by an unknown maker. The halter, bridle, and doll customization were all done by me, however, as was the CM Breyer Aussie.

New tack photos to come soon! Stay warm!

Well I guess I didn't need the light box just now, anyway...

2009-12-02T21:24:00.003-08:00

Ah, the joys of cat ownership...

Friesian sjees harness

2009-11-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

A custom order, and a harness design that I'm using for the first time:

The saddle was made with a coke can "seat" with skiver stretched over it.

The blinker stays are adjustable...

And the reins are the cotton cord I've been using for leashes and lead ropes.

This is also the first harness I've made using tongue buckles! A bit more difficult than regular friction buckles, but I like the look and it's easier to adjust!

With the crupper attached. (whoops) These do not come with breeching, interestingly enough.

And last but not least, a new dog collar set for eBay, this time with some Swarovski bling:

Interesting what one can find around the house to take photos for eBay, the box the dog is standing on was a box for a bracelet that was a gift, and the backdrop is one of my old vet clinic scrubs. XD

eBay auction can be found here.

Until next time!

And still more colored leather lace!

2009-11-15T17:04:00.001-08:00

This one using the red lace, which looks pretty darn good on the Breyer Dalmatian (modelled here on "GW Hello Operator"). It is also for sale on eBay.

It also comes with a lead and a rope "bone" toy (dog isn't for sale).

Pretty in pink

2009-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

More colored lace, this time Juliet is modelling a draft foal size barn halter. The chin and crown have tongue buckles and the throatlatch attaches with a mini lanyard clip. The lead, again, is twisted cotton cord.

Halter is currently for sale on eBay.

The cord is from JoAnne's and comes wrapped on a card in five yard lengths. It was fairly kinked because of the packaging (you can see this in the rope halter post below), so adapting a tip I found on the internet, I set about correcting this problem. I cut the length I needed plus a little extra (around an inch or so), soaked it in water, then anchored one end to a shelf and weighed down the other end with a "chip clip" plastic clothesline-type clip, so the cord hung down and dried stretched out. It dried in about ten minutes and now drapes beautifully.

Yellow, how are you?

2009-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

I found a new source for not only 'roo lace, but colored 'roo lace. And it comes in some nice, brilliant colors, too. The yellow was my favorite out of the batch I bought, I thought it would look good on bays and chestnuts like Sparrowhawk here.

Doesn't look quite as nice on greys and grullas like Riddle, though, but I was just trying it out to see if it fit other models.

It also fits Flash...
...as well as old Amazon.

The lead is twisted cotton cord with yellow accents and a mini lanyard clip. The buckle holes were punched using an old mechanical pencil (thank you Jennifer Buxton for posting the tip in her blog!) This halter and lead is currently for sale on eBay.

I also got turquoise, pink, royal blue, and red to work with, so I'll be posting more photos soon...

Mini-post!

2009-09-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Twisted cotton cord from JoAnne's + ecru DMC floss + superglue for sealing the ends= simple yet elegant old-fashioned Draft Horse rope halters!

Pictured here on NASD mare "Belly Dancer" and her filly "Juliet".

More Bucc photos

2009-09-13T20:00:00.001-07:00

A few of my halter winners and other models from around the show hall. If you see yours and would like credit or wish to have your photo removed, please let me know.

"I'm Your Huckleberry"- OF Breyer Flash #594. Shown as a grade pony gelding, he wins/Champs just about every time out.

Clockwise from lower left- "Autumn Miss Sally" Breyer G1 OP Morgan Mare #5038, third OF Morgans; "Captain Caveman" Breyer G3 Andalusian #5971, first OF Other Spanish, OF Champion Spanish Breeds; and "Pearlin' Jean" Breyer Shetland Pony #25, first OF British Ponies. (with "GW Hell on the Red" OF Breyer Irish Setter in the upper right. I don't remember if he placed...)

Faye Cohen/Vicki Keeling Arabian. I love this guy's expression.

A lovely H-R Arabian.

Morgen Haberman's stunning brindle Matriarch in fine harness (someday I hope to make a harness as nice as this...)

One thing I took away from this show is that I must get a Strapless to show in Performance. So elegant and versatile!

BF SR "Sprinkles" all decked out in Native American costume. I didn't like her much form the BF promo materials, so I turned down a couple of trade offers for pickups. Now I wish I'd accepted!

The winner (and rightly so) of the OF Harness class. Most impressive setup!

I was in love with both this CM Lone Star and his tack.

A full body shot of Lone Star. Hubba-hubba!

That's all for the Buccaneer Live photos, stay tuned for next time!

Buccaneer Live post!

2009-09-11T08:50:00.001-07:00

A few weeks late, sorry!

We attended Buccaneer Live model horse show in Lincoln, NE, over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of August, here are a few photos of my performance entries.

This was my harness entry for this year, Fishbiscuit taking Christian and Jodi for an afternoon drive with foxhound "Vera" and Sheltie "Trade Winds" in tow. (5th place)

The harness is currently for sale on eBay.

Christian giving Jodi riding lessons on Fish, with Psi "assisting". This entry won 1st place in OF Other English. I'd wanted to show Fish in EP but didn't feel he would be able to compete against the more "polished" Strapless and Cleveland bay entries. The lunge line is twisted cotton cord from JoAnne's, attaching to the off side bit with a clip and run over the crown and through the inside bit. Saddle set has been sold on eBay.

Dana schooling "Roxy" over fences, which took second in the same class. (again, many many thanks to Melissa for helping me with this setup!) This is the same jump I use for my Newsworthy "Merlin", who was taking a break from performance this time.

The saddle and breastplate are for sale on MH$P (bridle is spoken for).

My new ISH "Drive Shaft"(thank you Hilary for trading!) in "Natural" Western Trail, only he and his rider are at a show dropping off a pop can before heading off to class. This entry was fifth in the class.

And this is also my first Western saddle, made from a Rio Rondo kit. MUCH easier than I thought it would be, though it helps I've been making English saddles for awhile. Despite the rather obvious differences, it was easy to translate a lot of the construction process into this set. I also did a little customizing and made the stirrups adjustable. I was pleased with how it came out, I can't wait to make more of these. (set has been sold)

That's all for now, I'll be posting a few more of my favorite entries from around the showhall. thanks for reading. :)

Summer 2009 update

2009-08-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

Some recent eBay items and custom orders.

First up is a Classic scale harness, the first one I've ever made. I enjoyed working in another scale though threading the wire for the curb chain through that itty-bitty hole in the Kimberwicke bit was an experience! This was a custom order.

Next is a pair of bridles for Breyer's new loping QH mare mold "Roxy", both sold on eBay. The forelock is a bit of an obstacle...

I had fun plaiting the lace straps on this one. The bosal is DMC floss over a wire core, I wish I could find waxed thread in a rawhide-esque color, artificial sinew just doesn't work for me:

I've also been doing some dog "tack", this is a tracking harness and lead, the kind used in police work and search and rescue:

Ever turn up a single Rio Rondo halter ring in your supply drawer? Well this harness may be the perfect solution (well, that is, if your mateless ring is of the two-slotted variety)...

The real ones have a back ring just like this. This set was sold on eBay.

Some bling for an old Breyer Boxer antique store find:

And last but not least, a couple more custom order sets! An English set for the lovely Palouse:

I love the eyes on this model, she's one of my favorites to build tack on, too.

And a Newsworthy set. I get more tack orders for him, the Cleveland Bay, and the Stone Palouse.

Until next time! I'll have a report from Buccaneer Live in Lincoln, Nebraska.

American Heartland Live

2009-05-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

I attended AHL this weekend in Platte City, MO and had a blast. I came home with some winners in the performance and halter divisions, including Reserve Overall OF Performance with my Breyer SR John Henry, aka "Fishbiscuit" (Lost fans should get the reference ;) ):

This is my new favorite performance horse, I can't wait to make some more tack for him. :)

A few more photos...

My Stone AH Bubbles Palouse, aka "Ayala", in English Trail. I went with a crossover style bitless bridle instead of a snaffle. She won first place. The doll is a slightly customized Breyer vet doll with new hair, a new hat, and the checkered jacket from a Breyer farrier doll that met a grisly demise (don't ask! LOL).

And here's my Newsworthy in Hunter/Jumper, where he placed fourth:

The jump was made using Breyer jump standards with the velcro(!) removed, painted white with holes drilled for the jump cups. The cups were made using soda can cuttings which were painted black.

A few more photos can be seen at my Webshots album.

The saddle sets are both sold, the harness will be up on eBay this week.

Many thanks to the showholder and the judges for a fun show!

Revisiting an old friend

2009-04-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

My latest harness was made for a customer's Proud Arabian Stallion(aka the "PAS"), a model not high on the request list thanks to newer and more popular Arab molds. It gave me a chance to pull off the shelf an old friend from 1991.

I recieved "Thee Snowghost" as a late 14th birthday gift, he was my fourth Breyer ever, but my first Breyer I ever recieved after I discovered the hobby(via the Christmas 1990 HI article). He was also my first photo show horse, winning third place in the dapple greys class in Alison Benuish's Beginners Only show. I was so proud of my boy!

So it was fun creating some tack for him, and this was the final product(sorry there's only the one photo, the batteries were dying and the harness needed to be shipped out in time for a show):

Also, up on eBay this week is this Western snaffle bridle for Impress Me Shannon:

I made the bit, it's twisted from 32 gauge silver wire with a bead mouthpiece. I think every tackmaker should make their own hardware every now and then, be it bits, buckles, hooks, etc(I always make my own checkrein hooks on my harnesses).

Manufactured hardware is great and I'm thrilled the hobby has such talented crafters such as Rio Rondo and Sulser Saddlery and I love working with their creations, but it's fun to make my own, and it lends a certain individuality to the piece.

Until next time!

Combination trail bridle/halters

2009-03-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

I made a couple of these last year for a live show, and recently started making more. They're a lot of fun to make and something different for Trail and Other Performance.

Here's the headstall without the bits attached, making a halter (this bridle came with curb bit and snaffle bit options):

A mahogany bridle with all working mini clips, and a white bronze grazing bit by Sulser Saddlery:

And my latest, which is currently for sale on eBay:

This one has braided floss reins with a leather lead for a change, as well as red Swarovski crystals on the bit. The bit is a Rio Rondo W415 dee training bit, customized to a grazing bit with the "snaffle" portion clipped off and filed smooth.

I will be offering these for custom orders, prices will range from $45-$60 depending on options.

March 09 update- Hungarian pairs harness

2009-03-05T12:32:00.001-08:00

This was a slightly new experience for me, I've created many single harnesses but never a pairs harness of any kind. Many thanks to C Robertson for doing this trade for me, I've learned a lot and have new reference material to scour over and to inspire new creations. (plus I got my holy grail out of the deal to boot! I love my Chip!)

Modelled on "Sun Dog" and a JB Andrew which belongs to the customer(I nicknamed him "Bozeman" during his stay), this will be pulling a hearse and showing at Lone Star Live in a few weeks.

I put lobster clasps on the pole straps for easy on/off. Even someone as used to fiddling with tiny buckles as I am found this arrangement to be much less stressful! You can't find enough ways to reduce the amount of buckle-fiddling on a harness, let me tell you...

I was made aware of chainmail platelets by Susan Bensema-Young's book, and this was the first chance I've had to actually work with them. I rather think I like this look.

Here's Sun Dog unhitched from his partner. The hanging rein is the coupling rein, which atatches to the other horses's right side bit(and that horse's right rein attachs to SD's left side bit).

A study of the trace adjustor buckle.

Bridle study. The bits are brass RDLC elbow bits from The World Of Model Horse Collecting on eBay. The rest of the hardware is from Rio Rondo and Hobby Lobby. The feathers are black chicken feather fluff, trimmed down slightly to size.

And to wrap up, another full body shot...

Until next time!

Long rein schooling sets

2009-02-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

Here is preview of a new tack set I will be offering for custom order in the future, long rein schooling bridle and surcingle sets:

A little history- last summer we attended the Buccaneer Live model horse show in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was showing in performance with three new models, including a Stone half-passing Warmblood. While he's doing a nice half-pass, with his loose mane I was hedging on showing him in dressage (where he would be competing against Salinero and his near-perfect passage as well as his correctly braided mane!).

Some posters on Model Horse Blab were throwing around ideas for the mold, and member "ktbussey" suggested a long rein schooling setup, one of own having won big at a previous North American Nationals show. Perfect!

So after a quite a bit of digging on the internet and at the local library (never underestimate the value of libraries!) this setup was the result. The reins were black satin ribbon. I felt like this material works best as it mimicks real nylon web long reins, which are used far more often on these rigs than leather reins.

And as you can see, it did quite well. The black bridle shown in the above photo was later refitted with riding reins and used for another set. The surcingle was put away for several months, then it came time to create some tack to sell on eBay, and I was inspired to make a new set with a new bridle that better matched.

I didn't have any matching 1/16 lace this time around, but plenty of 3/32 lace. So I put my trimming skills to work and created my own 1/16 lace. Not as hard to do as one would think, provided you skive the lace first and have a good eye for keeping the blade on a straight course.

It also fits Salinero with adjusting (the reins were not shown for aesthetic purposes, I simply could not get them to sit right! They are meant to be shown at full stretch...):

I will be making more sets like these in the future, as well as offering slots for custom orders. Price will be in the $50-$70 range depending on options.

Until next time!

Might as well show this guy off

2008-12-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

Awhile back I posted the in-progress photos of a Breyer Foxhound who was slowly being transformed into a field-type Pointer. He actually sold a couple of months ago but I never did post the completed photos. So here he is, better late than never:

I did all the resculpting, his left foreleg and right hind below the hock are built up completely from scratch. I also made the leather collar with nameplate and the orange "visibility" collar. My sister Meredith painted him.

A comparison photo with an original Foxhound model(sorry about the text, this was an eBay photo):

I was rather proud of this guy, I liked having the chance to do a little customizing of my own. I'm not much into painting(that's my sister's hobby) but sculpting is a lot of fun.

Until next time!

November 17 update

2008-11-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

I've gotten back in to slit-braiding leather lately, here are two new pieces featuring this technique. First up is a custom order bridle for a Lareda resin that my sister is painting. The bit is a RDLC white bronze flower concho bit.

And second is a braided stock halter, made for large head Traditionals such as the Stone Palouse mold, and Lori Daniel's "Chip" resin:

I used a different technique for braiding both ends of the straps(barring the crown, chin, and jaw straps):

Once I had one end braided, it made that end too big to thread through the slits on the other end;
So I braided one end, left that strap long;
then braided the other end and skived it paper thin and snipped off most of the strap;
I then trimmed the longer piece to a point(dry-fitting the strap on the model to make sure it was the right length first);
then glued the end of the long strap so the point was flush with the braid on the other end(which forms a point itself).
Voila! A strap that looks like it had two braided ends!

This halter is currently for sale on MH$P.

The Chip resin by Lori Daniels is a new addition to my collection, and is a trade I'm doing for a Hungarian pairs harness. More on that in future entries, though. :) This fellow's name is "Heza Confidence Man" (which is a nod to my new TV show obsession "Lost". XD ):

Many thanks to C. Roberston for making this addition to my collection possible. He's been a Grail of mine for years and I am beyond thrilled to have him. He'll be painted by my sister eventually(who's equally happy to have the chance to have one of these good lookin' fellows in her portfolio!), I'm thinking blue roan with corn spotting, my favorite horse color.

Until next time!

Small July 7th update

2008-07-07T07:51:00.001-07:00

My newest herd members wearing my newest tack creations:

The mare is "Khepri", and the foal is "Khisanth", their names following my personal habit of giving any Sucesion and Le Fire sets I own names that start with the same first two letters.

The foal's halter is patterned after real figure-eight style halters that breeders use on newborns and younger foals. It comes complete with a "catch strap" hanging from the bottom ring(attached using a leather braiding technique outlined in Susan B-Y's book, always handy to learn something new!)

The mare's halter and lead(not shown) uses the last of a 50 foot roll of 3/32 natural kangaroo lace that I bought many, many years ago. Nothing new about the design here, though I am very pleased with the color I got, this shade of mahogany being my very favorite.

Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July weekend!

June 30th 2008 update

2008-06-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile! Here are some of my most recent projects:

A Classic scale circus costume, made for the Breyer Classic Rearing Stallion(shown here on "Wild Plum", a 2007 Target Special Run). It has brass hardware, the diamonds and stars are brads normally used in scrapbooking. They make excellent small scale tack embelishments, I also use them on harnesses. Won second place in Other Costume at American Heartland Live in May, sold on eBay:

A custom order Traditional English set, made for Breyer's Keltec Salinero:

A closeup of the saddle:

Two more custom order English saddles, both for Flash and other small Traditionals. The first was for customer wanting a complete set with bridle and elastic breastplate, the second customer only wanted the saddle. The second saddle has suede kneerolls.:

A brown hunt bridle with cast Rio Rondo snaffle bit, made for the Cleveland Bay. This is the first time I've made cuts in the noseband for the cavesson straps, I think this looks much neater than just folding the straps over the noseband.

And something new for the line, dog accessories! Right now while only the collars are advertised, harnesses and leads can be ordered.

A "roading" harness, used in gun dog field trials by competitors and their dogs following the lead braces until their turn to hunt comes up(the handler uses a 20-30 foot rope lead). The yellow "visibilty" collar is 1/8" satin ribbon. A better photo of the leather collar can be seen below.

Two leather collars fashioned after the type of collar worn by hunting dogs. The nameplate mounted flat on the leather and the roll ring prevent catching on underbrush. Here the "nameplates" are both a metal spacer bar mounted using headpins. Very realistic! The blue collar has the addition of "studs"(also headpins!), which was a custom ordered extra to match the customer's real dog's collar.

And last but certainly not least, a sneak peek of a collabarative piece. Remaking and sculpting by me, and will be painted by my sister. And you can bet he will come with plenty of miniature field dog hunting trials equipment...

Until next time! :)

Classic scale English set

2008-05-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

A custom order jump set with breastplate, stud girth, and grakle noseband bridle. All for a buyer in Australia, to fit a Gammon resin(a Classic scale jumper by Lynn Fraley). I don't have this model so I had to go on measurements(big thank you to the person who was willing to measure hers for me!).

Up next is an eBay piece, a silver stock show halter with red crystals, fitted to Breyer's Impress Me Shannon/Zippo Pine Bar mold.

Speaking of eBay, my Wintersong/Cleveland Bay harness sold for $237. Thank you so much to all who bid! Another harness will be up later this month!

Yes, I'm still alive.

2008-04-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

And here's what I've been working on lately! Most of it is CM orders or sales pieces that have been sold, the Cleveland Bay harness is for sale on eBay until April 27th(click on the photo to see the auction)

Trying out a simpler style with the crystal browbands(no lace border):

Light/gaited halter, built for Breyer's "Bluegrass Bandit" TWH mold, "palace green" colored crystals, sold on MH$P:

Light/gaited foal halter made on Breyer's Proud Arab Foal mold(modelled here on "Mistmaiden", an original finish #9 "Joy" made in the late 1950's/early 60's), aquamarine colored crystals, sold on eBay to the same person who bought the previous piece:

Harness:
I tweaked the Wintersong harness so it fit Breyer's Cleveland Bay. It can still fit Wintersong with some adjusting, and I'm including a longer browband and noseband that can be switched out(click on the photo to go to the auction):

A pair of bareback riding sets with bitless bridles:

Custom order with "palace green" crystal browband, mahogany lace, braided floss reins, and white fleece pad:

Another one for Bluegrass Bandit, a medium blue and dark brown set with gold tone hardware. I went with leather reins that buckle onto the bridle rings, instead of the usual lanyard hooks, and I used DMC floss in four strand flat braid on the browband. Sold on MH$P and now living in Australia:

That's it for now, stay tuned for more CM orders and sales pieces! I'll be working on some setups for the upcoming American Heartland Live show on May 17th, I'll be posting a few sneak peeks.

Smallish update

2008-03-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

The Wintersong harness and Cleveland Bay halter will be going up on eBay tonight, along with a few other items. :) Stay tuned to my eBay page, they'll go up between 7 and 7:30 Central:

A long overdue update...

2008-03-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some new items for your viewing pleasure:

A couple of fancy barn halters, one for Wintersong(sold) and one for the Cleveland Bay model( for sale on eBay. :)-

The Wintersong halter has the floss stitched into the lace, while the CB halter has a four strand flat braid glued on top of paper thin skived lace. Both methods produce a lovely result, I think!

And next up is the harness previewed in the previous post, now complete:

This harness uses Susan Bensema Young's patterns, as well as elements borrowed from harnesses shown in my Smucker's catalog. The browband has a six strand half round braid using red and green floss.

I've had some nice white leather lace lying around for awhile now, I was originally thinking about making a Draft show bridle, but I thought it would make for some nice bell straps instead. Since Wintersong's thick mane doesn't really allow for well-fitting collar bells, I took the opportunity to try some new bell straps in the form of chest drop bells(used the same way as a false martingale), and body bells:

Note the crupper: it had to be a false one whose straps are sticky waxed in place at the base of the tail, since a good length of his tail is attached to his butt. Non functioning buckles were added for a more realistic look.

This set is for sale on MH$P, click on the hyperlink to go to the sale page.

That's all for now, next time: some custom orders I've been working on. Until then! :)

Week of 2/22/08

2008-02-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a little preview of a harness for Breyer's Wintersong mold...

More photos to come soon.

Bells, bells, bells...

2008-02-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

New for this week isa pair of bell collars. While I was working on another project I draped them over a St Bernard figurine on my dresser, and I thought it looked cute, so...

Neither of these are for sale, the blue set is a live show donation, the mahogany set is for a German customer's Babette resin. The white hanger is an expiriment inspired by a friend's new interest in dollhouse miniatures and the sleigh bell door hangers I found in my Smucker's catalog. I've also got a blue and a red one in progress.

The door hangers will be up on eBay this weekend.

Also, the Flash bridle from the previous post is now on eBay. I have plenty of other items up currently, click on my eBay store to go see them!

Until next time! :)

New stuff February 4th, 2008

2008-02-04T17:57:00.000-08:00

A new Swarovski crystal bridle, made for Breyer's "Flash" mold:

I went with alternating colors for the crystals, I think red and gold make a lovely combination. Definitely using this combo again on future projects! I also used a simple jump ring with bead mouthpiece bit, the bead is crimped in place over the ends on the jump rings.

Currently for sale on MH$P, click on the photo to go to that page.

Week of January 29th

2008-01-29T12:16:00.000-08:00

A few new projects, first up is the previously mentioned pink and white braided Lady Phase halter, now on eBay:

Next is a custom order for Kristi S., she wanted a braided halter for her Breyer Classic Duchess in a buckskin colorway, and gave me free rein as far as color. I chose electric blue with mahogany lace and silver hardware, and I love the result:

And last but certainly not least is a Weymouth bridle for the Breyer Keltec Salinero mold, a custom order for Jennifer A. She wanted a bridle like the one featured on my bridles pricelist, but with light blue crystals instead of light pink:

I am very pleased with the way it turned out, and because of this order I've found a new source for Swarovski crystals! She sells just about every color under the sun, and her prices are much better than Hobby Lobby's.

If you're interested in ordering a bridle or a halter like the ones pictured, you can click on any of the images above to go to the pricelists.

In the works is another braided halter, as well as a silver stock breed show halter with red Swarovski crystal embellishments!

Stay tuned!

More braided projects

2008-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

This time it's a halter for the Stone Ideal Stock Horse(click on the image to go to the auction):

(EDIT: it's been sold, now the link will lead to the pricelist on my MH$P page)

This is four strand flat braid again with four strand round on the throat and lead. I went with whiskey(love this color!) leather join straps as well, which adds a nice contrast.

I'm also taking custom orders for these, go to my MH$P page for prices.

In the works is a pink and white halter with gold hardware for the Lady Phase mold, and an electric blue halter with silver/chrome hardware(mold undecided, probably the ISH as well). Pics to come soon!

Week of January 13th, 2008

2008-01-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from crystals and leather bridles this weekend, I decided to experiment with some of the braiding methods shown in Susan Bensema-Young's book that I hand't tried yet. This bridle has a "half round six" braid for the crownpiece and the browband, with the ends of the crownpiece done in two three-strand braids:

The noseband is four strand flat braid with another three-strand braid on top for the nose rings. The four strand flat, I've found, is no more difficult than the round version; and while the half round six is a bit more frustrating and complicated, it is much more forgiving and it's easier to correct mistakes. So you will be seeing more braided bridles in the future.

This bridle is available for sale on eBay with a matching bareback pad, you can go there by clicking on the photo below:

Here is another bridle done this weekend, this one was done on the spur of the moment as a matching piece for a bareback pad I already have up for sale:

This one uses the four strand flat on the crown and bit pieces, and four strand round on the ear loop(all DMC floss). The reins are three-strand using black waxed linen thread and pink DMC floss.

You can see the eBay auctions for the pad and bridle by clicking on the photo below(link will take you to my eBay store, these are seperate items):

That's all for this week, stay tuned for next time!

Week of January 6th, 2008

2008-01-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last week was a good eBay week, with my "plain" barn halter selling as well as my Swarovski crystal foal halter(which is going to Australia!).

On to my latest projects! Since the peridot browband didn't sell I decided to go ahead and build a bridle with it. I was in the mood to do another bitless bridle for Wintersong, so I extended the ends a bit so it would fit the mold, and added some round stud spots. The reins are again braided DMC floss, this time I used the "straight colors" method. I think I like the look!

*EDIT 01/07/08 It has been sold! The link will now take you to the CM order pricelist for these, in case you were wanting one and missed out!*

I also finished another custom order, a dark brown Western Pleasure show bridle for the Zippo Pine Bar mold(shown here on "Wanderer", an "Impress Me Shannon" #1166 issue):

The bit is a RDLC "Texas Star" sterling silver bit, buckles are Rio Rondo, and the beads are from Hobby Lobby.

Stay tuned for next time!

Happy New Year and new eBay stuff

2007-12-31T21:17:00.000-08:00

First off, I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year! We're at home, did absolutely nothing but eat a nice dinner(little smokies in BBQ sauce, quite tasty!) and now I'm turning in before midnight. I'm such a party animal.

But before that, here's what I've been working on and selling lately!

First is a bareback pad and bitless bridle set, made for the North Light Donkey mold. I forgot to update my blog when I posted it to eBay, so it is already sold, but I thought I'd show it off anyway:

I will do another similar set around Valentine's Day, for a different model.

Next is a custom order, my customer is getting one of Susan "Pitbullmom" Tonielli's famous "purple pony" customs, and wanted a blue saddle for him to wear. This was the end result, I am very pleased with how it came out:

I still have a bit of blue leather left over, so I will be doing another for eBay in the future.

And last but not least are my latest Swarovski crystal-crusted creations, click on the images to go to the auctions:

A browband in peridot colored crystals(meant to liven up an existing bridle):

And a light or sport breed foal presentation halter, made for Breyer's "Ashley" mold, done with light siam colored crystals:

That's all for now, again, Happy New Year, everyone! See you in 2008!

eBay 12/09

2007-12-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

Something else that's new for me this week: halter plates with Swarovski crystals!

Here's a closeup of the new halter buckle with its crystal, click on the image to go to the auction and see the rest of the halter:

Store, new eBay items

2007-12-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

I've finally opened an eBay store, slowly but surely getting new stuff as well as previous unsold items up. The logo was made using Photoshop Elements 3(wish they'd let us use bigger logos, but I'm pleased with how it turned out!)

Also a couple of new bareback pads are up(no bridles with these, click on the images to go to the auctions):

Turquoise with black girth, made for medium Traditionals like Lady Phase(SOLD!):

Leopard print with brown girth, made for large Traditionals like the Palouse Horse(I love this pattern! But it's out of scale for leopard spots, so I just call it "clouded leopard"...)

Also up is yet another collaborative effort between me and my sister(again, click on the photo to go to the auction):

I repositioned the head on the Breyer beagle and resculpted the neck, then my sister painted him in pastels and acrylics to classic Beagle tri-color.

In other news I got my copy of "Historic Vehicles in Miniature: The Genius of Ivan Collins" by Ron Brentano today(at a terrific price, too, $8.00 total including shipping! Thank you Hamilton Books!) and I have to say I am floored by these amazing miniatures. It sure makes me want to get some plans and start building some vehicles for my future harness entries!

New for 11/25

2007-11-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

These are two totally new tack items for me, a crossover style bitless bridle and a fleece bareback pad. Nothing more satisfying than tackling something I've never tried before and have it turn out so well, and so easily! So you'll definitely be seeing more of these in the future!

I made it for Breyer's new Shire mold "Wintersong", aka "Treebeard" in my collection, an early Christmas present from Mom. (thanks Mom! :) )

Click on the photo to go to the auction! :)

2007-11-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

Not much going on in the way of tack right now, but here are the first of several pieces in a series of Christmas ornaments that my sister and I are collaborating on(she paints the models, I make the hangers):

You can see the auctions by clicking on the images.

New stuff for 11/11

2007-11-11T16:33:00.000-08:00

A new collar bells set, this time in red with silver hardware, also with the addition of lanyard clips on the attachment loops(removable for models with higher headsets) Click on the photo to go to the eBay auction:

And a first for me, a complete saddle and bridle set! Usually I don't have a saddle and bridle ready to go at the same time, since both are fairly time consuming and I try to have something new every weekend. Click on either photo to go to the eBay auction:

And the complete set with the bells in place:

Next project on the bench is a russet English saddle with tan seat and kneerolls...

New eBay schtuff

2007-10-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

Four strand round braid Arab halter, made for the Breyer Classic Arab Mare, which is actually an older piece, done earlier this year:

And the previously shown Cleveland Bay show set with Swarovski crystals:

Both are on eBay, click on the photos to go to the auctions. :)

I'm on a roll...

2007-10-25T18:17:00.001-07:00

Here's a sneak peek at my next eBay piece(still a WIP):

And a custom order that I actually finished last weekend, I just wanted the new owner to be the first one to see it(and to approve of it). ;) This is my latest harness, which would be harness number 8(9 if you count my first harness and the updated version I made from the first as two harnesses), a CM order for Joan in Massachusetts:

The new owner will be showing this on her Jazz Fusion at the New England Performance Challenge this weekend, and at Region X Regionals the weekend after. I wish her luck and lots of ribbons, and thank her for her order! :)

If anyone reading this is interested, my harness books are open for orders, as are my bridle books and collar bell books. See my vendor page at MH$P for more info:

2007-10-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

New for the week of 10/21, this took me about six hours with two breaks.

And it is for sale on eBay: link!

New stuff 10/04

2007-10-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Just completed last night, this bridle was made for the Breyer Nokota Horse, but as you can see it also fits the Missouri Fox Trotter:

Features the usual Rio Rondo cast and etched hardware, the strap tips are cut and shaped sterling silver bezel strips. I did a slit braid futurity knot on the browband, and used round lace for the reins and throatlatch for extra refinement. A very flashy bridle, it will be up for sale on eBay this Sunday!

And here's the saddle I've been working on, the bridle was put on hold:

This is an English all-purpose saddle, made for the Breyer "Flash" mold. A snaffle bridle with a fancy Swarovski crystal browband is also in the works, and if all goes well this set will be up on eBay Sunday as well. (edit 10/07 actually it will just be the saddle after all, turned out I didn't have enough buckles for the bridle. Oy vey.)

Well, la-dee-dah...

2007-09-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

The Weymouth bridle sold for $59.95.

I decided to hold off on listing the harness until last night, it's up now with a minimum bid of $99.95.

Next up is a small Traditional scale all-purpose English saddle and snaffle bridle set. The bridle, like the Weymouth, will have Swarovski crystals in the browband, plus it will have a fleece saddle pad to match.

Also in the works are some customized Breyer dogs.

Preview pics to come!

New blog, new tack

2007-09-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

First post here! This will be my announcement list of sorts for new tack, tack for sale, and occasionally customs.

And to start off, here's a preview of what's going up on eBay tomorrow night:

First up is a dressage double bridle made for Breyer's Keltec Salinero mold. The last Weymouth I did had a stitched tinsel thread browband that mimicked jewelled browbands on real horse bridles. Then I found some Swarovski crystals that were actually small enough to look good on Traditional Breyers, and this was the result. It helped get "Hobbes"(my original finish Salinero) a second in Other English at Buccaneer Live last August!

Next is my latest harness, which was actually made earlier this year in March. It, too, was made for the Salinero mold, but I've found it also fits the old Breyer Adios mold. It's won both times I've shown it: first at American Heartland Live in March 2007 on "Hobbes"; and again in the Dayton Layman Memorial Harness Class at Buccaneer Live in August 2007, this time on "American Made", my OF Breyer Yellow Mount.

More tack coming soon! :)