Basics in Leatherworking
Leather is an amazingly strong and durable material. If properly taken care of, leather can last significantly longer than vinyl and when the item is discarded it will biodegrade in a relatively short amount of time. Leatherworking uses slightly different tools and techniques than your average sewing project but is not significantly more difficult. This is the first post of a series on making a leather shoulder bag. The pattern used for this series and to make the bag shown below can be downloaded here:Leather Bag Pattern DownloadGuide for Arranging Printed Pages Basic Tools: • Leather Needles – have a triangle point end which is ideal for working with animal skin. What Kind of Leather to Use: Select leather based on what your end project is going to be. Preparing for and Cutting Out Your Pieces: Inspect the front of the leather before cutting your pieces. Use a straight edge blade to cut along the lines your marked on the leather. I made a lining for this bag from leather as well.
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DIY Hex Nut Diamond Bracelet : DIY Fashion by Trinkets in Bloom
I love finding supplies to make jewelry at the hardware store. For this bracelet I revisited an old favorite the “hex nut†and this time I brightened it up with a purple rat tail cord. You can easily stack this bracelet with all your others for a great look. Brass hex nutsBrass jump ringsPliers24†of rat tail cordLighter Step 1 Lay out your hex nuts to determine your pattern. Step 2 Using your pliers, open your jump rings to fit around your hex nuts, you will be joining 2 at a time. Step 3 • Cut your rat tail cord in half. • Fold it over and loop it through your end nut. • Take one hex nut and feed your cords from each side through the hex nut. • Tie your ends in knots. • Using your lighter, carefully melt the ends of your cord. I have to tell you that I was inspired to make this bracelet while I was watching an episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County, when I was at the gym. I actually set out to make earrings with this project.
Leathercraft | Leathercraft Tutorials and Videos
DIY Gold Leaf Faux Jewelry
Inspired by a shoot styled by Mandy of Oracle Fox where gold leaf was applied in the form of makeup and jewelry, I immediately had to try it myself. It’s an instantaneous and temporary solution for a lack of bling. Plus, it looks super fly! This technique may even come in handy this Halloween season when you decide you’ll want to dress up as a Fendi-bot . . . or C-3P0. You’ll need: Start by cutting the sheet of gold leaf into half inch strips. The gold leaf will not adhere to anything without an adhesive agent so an application of spirit gum is necessary. Pick up a strip of gold leaf and press the gold side onto the tacky area with pressure. Remove the tape and use your fingers to smooth out any loose flakes. Voila! (top image via Vogue.com, rest of images by HonestlyWTF; bottom image Jennifer Fisher Spike Ring & Zoya Edyta polish)
DIY : Celtic heart knot necklace // Collier ficelle à noeud en coeur | Clones 'n' Clowns
This is a tricky DIY but also a quick one if you get your head / fingers around it. You probably have all you need at home already, i.e. a couple of hoodie strings or any other rope or string. String necklaces are extremely popular this season and there are so many different types you can make yourself in no time. I can easily say I ♥ this one – for obvious reasons ! Voilà un tutorial un peu complexe en apparence mais en réalité rapide et simple. Learn how to do it yourself (make sure you follow the arrows…!) Toi-même tu sais faire (suivez les flèches dans le bon ordre…!) A few extra tips / Quelques astuces supplémentaires : – Just tie the laces at the back of your neck and cut off any extra string / Nouez les ficelles derrière le cou et couper le surplus – Choose light dark coloured string for a nice contrast / Choisissez une couleur de ficelle foncée et une claire pour avoir un joli contrast – Use the two pieces of string as ONE – Tee-shirt by Zara xx
La Bricoleuse - Tutorial: Leather straps and edge-binding
Since we're rolling up into Opening Week (which means we only have work if there's any last-minute crises on the "holy crap fix this by tonight" scale), we're doing a week of tutorial presentations, where anyone with a particular field of specialty does a little how-to demo, limited to about 20 minutes. I can't cover a wide range of leatherworking info in 20 minutes, so i'm going to focus on two topics that are most likely to come up in craft builds--making straps and edging things with a leather binding. Because i've not taught this particular topic before, i thought i'd write up my info in a Tutorial post here as a way of practicing it and getting my thoughts in order. Recommended Tools Fig. 1 These are the tools I recommend that you have on-hand for working with leather. On the left is a metallic gel pen. In the center is a strap cutter. You will also need a rotary cutter (on the right) and cutting mat (the big green surface), and a steel ruler. Making Straps Fig. 2 Edge Binding Q. Fig. 3
Make Photo Necklaces, Earrings, Magnets and More Using Shrinkable Plastic
Seems like everything keeps getting smaller these days: computers, dogs, headphones… And now even photographs are joining in the smallness, thanks to the magic of biaxially oriented thermoplastic polystyrene (that’s Shrinky Dinks to you). You can print photos on plastic using your inkjet printer, and shrink them down small enough to make into necklaces, fridge magnets, earrings, or practically anything you can think of. See? Just like that, the world is your bivalve mollusc of the family Ostreidae! * How to Turn Photo Shrinky Dinks Into Wonderful Things Photo credits: city: Christopher & AmyCate, giraffe: milkfat, tree: left-hand, bird: lucianvenutian What You’ll Need Inkjet-printable shrink plastic (clear or white)– Michael’s and Pearl usually have it Oven or toaster oven Cookie sheet Parchment paper — check the grocery store next to the plastic wrap and tinfoil Scissors and/or X-acto knife Hole punch (optional) Choose Your Photos Print on Plastic Don’t Make Me Cut You Preheat the Oven More Ideas
