As the previous picture demonstrated, each shape is cut by hand with an X-Acto knife. Then I go back and skive or thin all of the edges so the finished boot top will be smooth and clean. A bit of carelessness with the knife during cutting or skiving means I have to redo the entire top panel.
Lisa Sorrell, cowboy boot maker 
This work is fabulous. I can’t wait to see more of it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
I am very interested in the process of making your custom boots! I cannot believe you cut each shape by hand with an X-Acto knife. Where did you learn how to make boots? http://www.whitesboots.com/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=184
I found boot making by answering an ad in the local newspaper for “stitching boot tops.” I spent a year and a half with that boot maker, Jay Griffith, then paid a former student of his to train me. I opened my own shop in 1996 and have been making boots ever since. I teach both cowboy boot making and leather inlay/overlay now.