One piece of advice I would give is to try and avoid making your own strop at this point.

The GemStar was designed specifically for a beginner to try and help ease the learning curve.

Whippeddog.com also has a "poor mans" strop, so check that out too.

I understand being in a tight financial situation, but its totally worth it to spend a little extra up front than it is to dull or ruin your edge by using less than ideal materials - especially an edge you just paid to have sharpened.

Just my opinion. We all gotta go what we gotta do! Let us know how it goes.