Quick Tip: Burning the Edges of Lead Ropes.

If you notice that the ends of your lead ropes are unraveling, I have a quick and easy way to seal the edges. You can use some tacky glue to seal the edges, but I find that to be a sticky mess. 

I use a fire to burn the edges. I know that this may seem crazy, but it works! I used the stove, but you can also use a candle, or a lighter. I asked my mom to help with the fire, so make sure that you are doing this safely. 

So basically what I do is hold the edge up to the flame for only two seconds, and it gives the ribbon this nice and neat finish! 

Make sure not to hold it in the fire for too long, or you might start burning the end. If that happens your tip might be black! I recommend practicing this with a piece of scrap ribbon to get the hang of it, before you try it on your lead ropes.

 

Some Sad News

So this week has been a sad one. Our lovely gerbil, Latte, has died. She was only a few months old, but she had a stroke and passed away in the night. It’s so sad, she was a great gerbil and I will always remember her.

So on the positive side, we welcomed two new gerbils! Meet Toasty and Cookie. Apparently gerbils always need to have a friend, so we got these two girls to keep Mocha company.

Toasty

Cookie

Mocha

The three are getting along perfectly! At first we did a split cage, but today they have been getting along really well.

By the way, Valentine’s Day halters are coming!

 

Halters and Lead ropes

Hello! I’m sorry for not posting, I’ve been really busy. So yesterday I was at Michels (a craft store) and I found this string in the clearance section. It was originally 17 dollars, but I bought it for only 1! The thickness is perfect for lead ropes.

Since NaMoPaiMo is coming up, I’ve been busy crafting halters for donations. 

For the model that I’m going to paint, I’m still not completely sure... but I’m probably going to paint this mustang model. The mane and tail is really long, and it also has scratches all over it. For the color I’m thinking dun?

 

Quick Tip: Super Shene

Today I wanted to give you a quick ( and handy ) tip that makes saddles and bridles look shiny. The trick is to use Super Shene.

Here is a close up picture. Without the Super Shene the leather has a green hue on it. ( It might be hard to tell in the photo). The leather dye also bleeds onto your fingers when you rub it.

I use the Super Shene by Eco-Flo, although any brand works. To apply it, I get an old rag, dip it in the bottle, and apply the Super Shene in small circular motions. I like to add multiple layers to get that extra shine.

Well, that was my quick tip! If you don’t already have Super Shene, I strongly recommend investing in a bottle. It makes my tack so much more realistic and shiny.

 

Horse Lovers A Compendium

My cello teacher recently gave me a Barns and Nobels gift card for Christmas. I saw that they had this horse book for sale, and I had to get it. I only read the first few pages, but so far it’s great! 

It’s full of cute horse pictures and information about every horse breed. This is especially great when I’m trying to come up with a breed for my model horses.

When I was quickly scanning through the pages, I found that it even has info on the different horse .This is awesome because I can use the photos as good references.

It’s officially 2021! This will be a great year! I can’t wait to read the rest of this book.