A productive week

As it turns out, this week proves to be very productive for me. I just completed this pretty black hunter bridle with raised nose & browband, and a dropped noseband. It fits the Peter Stone ISH perfectly, and it needs very little stickywax to stay in place - very handy to put on quickly for shows. 

I really like how the little extra strap for the dropped noseband came out! It was a bit of a fuss figuring out how to make the noseband with the little loop that the extra strap threads through, but we got there.

And it was a relief to finally make a bridle again that did NOT have laced reins! The last three or four bridles all had them, and as much as I love the look of laced reins, they are a pain in the butt to make. 

Hunter bridle

This blog has been neglected terribly for the past four months! Sorry about that folks, I promise to keep better track of my tack making :)
In the time that I haven't posted, I've been able to complete several bridles and halters, including this commission piece - a dark brown hunter bridle with laced reins. It's now on its way to the USA (where it will hopefully arrive in time for a show that the new owner is attending!). It was made for the Breyer traditional Cleveland Bay mold, so it does not fit my Idocus perfectly, but you get the idea :)

Laced reins came out very well!

Time for tack

The last few days have been quite productive. I have finished the racing bridle (pictures will follow in another post), and I have started on a black snaffle bridle with flash noseband (a commission).
The pictures below are a sneak peek of the new black snaffle :)

Hunter bridle

Here is a newly completed Hunter bridle in a light brown/tan colour. It will be for sale through MH$P :)
It features a raised noseband and browband, laced reins, and an extra strap attached to the noseband, which is common on jumper bridles. The extra strap can also be removed so the bridle can be used in hunter classes.

I just had to try this out

Yep, that is my new Breyer Totilas who I named SMS Isotoop. His white halter looked a bit plain on him, so I emboired his name on it. Took me a few tries (the first times I kept messing up either the ribbon or the letters! grrr), but it's getting there :) 

I will try this technique again on other halters, see how it turns out. 

Sneak peeks

My desk is swamped by unfinished projects, and with some new orders coming in, I felt the need to finish some stuff before starting on anything new. 

So here are some sneak peeks of what I have been working on the past few weeks :)

First up is this hunter/jumper bridle. It still needs the bit, crownpiece and throatlatch, and the laced reins. I am quite pleased with the way the raised noseband came out. 

This racing bridle has been in the works for a few months now (oops!), and it's still not finished. It was an experiment with red leather, and I think it came out pretty good. I'm still figuring out how to do the reins...

Please excuse the terrible photos. Will have to take better ones when these bridles are finished!

Some Bling for the New Guy

There are moments when I really don't feel like making tack (*cough* the last 3 months *cough*). But today was not one of those days, because my beautiful new Standing Ovation resin arrived! He was painted by the late Kathy McKenzie, and was offered to me by a fellow hobbyist for a very cheap price (he had a broken eartip and some paint damages). I fixed him up, and he is finally show ready :D

And of course he immediately needed a show halter, so I made him one

Doesn't he look handsome in red? I think he does ;)