One Person's Junk Is A Miniaturist's Gold

Pat Tyler's friends always know what to do with their junk. As an expert miniaturist, specializing in working with leather, Pat has been known to convert small blocks of useless wood into miniature leather suitcases, and jackets purchased at Goodwill into sofas and ottomans. "Everyone who know me," she says, "knows that I don't like to waste anything. `Oh, Pat will take that junk,' they say. I do, and eventually I find a use for it."

Frugality is one of Pat's most prominent qualities. And it has paid off. The full time miniaturist's creations are regularly displayed at the Top Artisans Show, and her work is showcased in Carole and Barry Kayes' "Best of the Best" Museum of Miniatures in Los Angeles, CA. Now you can learn Pat's secrets of turning junk into miniature creations in "Working With Leather With Pat Tyler," Volume 8 of The Master Miniaturists Video Instructional Series. This collection of videos features expert instruction by some of the country's top miniature artisans.

This latest Volume teaches everything you need to know to add the feel of fabric and leather to the furnishings of your miniature house. A thorough introduction to the tools and materials required, is followed by detailed instructions for producing simple pieces like leather and tapestry luggage.

You'll learn that the difference between working with leather and working with tapestry comes down to one thing: fray checking. And you'll understand why, when working with tapestry, you must saturate the fabric with fray check, then wait until it's completely dry before you start cutting. "Otherwise," says Pat, "the material will fray as if it hadn't been fray checked."

After putting the straps, handles, and finishing touches on your miniature suitcase, you'll graduate to upholstering more advanced creations such as ottomans and sofas. Throughout all the instructions, Pat's frugality rings loud and clear. For instance, "Don't overglue," she cautions. "It can create problems later."

She also stresses the importance of patience. "Let your glue dry," she says. "Not doing so will be more time consuming. And the last thing you want is grief." But what if you want your glue to dry faster? Well, practicality is also one of Pat's strong points. "If you're in a big hurry, then use your blow dryer," she says with a smile.

And her instruction continues right down to the last minute. While displaying what we think is a `finished' sofa, Pat demonstrates yet another technique for turning `junk into gold' by using tiny scraps of leather found all around her work area to create armrests for the sofa.