#leather tooling fun

[melmac78]

Guess what I have been doing? 😊

First real art piece I’ve made in about a month.

The leather needs to dry overnight before I dye it.

It’ll be turned into a cuff bracelet.

I’m using saddle tan antique dye to color it (and this color I’ve found ages beautifully) and a brass swing purse hook. It’ll be pretty simple.

There also a couple of “Hogan’s Heroes” inspired pieces I plan that fit the area here because they’re fairly timeless patterns.

I have lock one I have had a few years that fits Newkirk to a T.

Papa Bear - Hogan - I have the design and a great concho to fit it.

(Both I can see Carter actually have made for them post war and without revealing their operations. I could possibly see him getting into this post-war given he fashioned a leather belt in an episode. Belts are surprisingly hard to make).

Carter and Kinch I have a couple in mind,

Now - LeBeau… he’s surprisingly difficult to figure out. I don’t think Dad’s “Real men wear flowers and butterflies” belief quite fits, but I keep getting a call back to it. (I do have an unusual one that looks like a frying pan - pictured below- so… 🤷‍♀️ )

(I figured when I get all of the remaining finished of post them at once.)

Hope you enjoy.

•••

Personally, I’m going OK. Been a long few weeks, but finally adapted to the time change.

Plus I am watching a lot of different shows to get some inspiration for art of late.

[melmac78]

Little bit of spring fun. I made both bracelets, although the turtle one is an Italian link bracelet I added UV resin approved turtles and a little dot of resin underneath them to secure.

I have a mixed feeling about painting leather because it’s a bit of a pain unless you do geometric shapes such as the honeycomb. I’ve thought about seeing a paint pens work or I’ll just find other leather dye that’s in other colors.

This flower bracelet I’ve got planned is going to have a base of light or medium brown and then the flowers might be a mix of saddle, tan and mahogany since those are orangey and red colors and I can wear it around that way.

If leather paint isn’t too much (though I would be doing a sample collection so I don’t have as much dye to use.) I may do a spring one with Flowers. The Center rivets are gonna be copper tax only because the colorful dots don’t always secure correctly..

[melmac78]

My Texas cuff completed, and then a scrap bracelet made with the leftovers from several bracelets I’ve made. On the left of a bracelet, the one side with the button fastener actually rests on the top of my wrist.

When have leftovers I’ll either use the parts as key rings, parts of pendants or like this. I don’t have a good idea for pendants with these particular pieces, and I didn’t want to do key rings.

Plus, I don’t like wasting material. I even have a batch of pendants that were resin that went bad. I have pour resin plans to seal them.

The back of the scrap one might look a little bare, but I don’t paint the backside of leather because the dye can transfer onto my wrist. Plus, the way that one is designed. It will stretch to wear those spots way flat and you can’t see it

I made resin too, however, I am going to see if I can get another Harvey House pin because the piece I made inexplicably broke. I think I realized what I did wrong but it’s gonna have to get redone.

Hope you enjoy.

[melmac78]

Ok… I am going to leather tool today, but not sure which designer I want to do:

A. Nothing but tigers and some sort of border,

B. The 12 animals and prints based on the lunar new year with designs around them, or

C. Borders with the Texas stamp and then using the state of Texas seal concho or the two tone state one.

•••••

Just to clarify, the animals stamps are below. The state stamp is a flag inside the state silhouette.

Just one of the things that I try to consider so I don’t make a design that I realize isn’t going to be used and then I waste product.

I usually stamp a little longer on pieces I do a hinge clasp just as a margin of error, but the extra I turned into a pendant the fact I have a bit extra from the butterfly flower one that I need to turn into a pendant. That said, Ineed to add another coat on top of it to fix some of the goopy error I made with the leather protectant.

[melmac78]

I need an opinion: which concho works best with the band?:

I found the seashell and flower ones in my stash today, along with a couple that don’t match.

It’ll be dyed medium brown.

Any help is appreciated.

•••••••

And for the reason lovers: 2 Looney Tunes themed pendants celebrating 20 years since I worked at the park.

I dressed up, but didn’t appear as Sylvester (but he counts as a toon I was), and Marvin… is a mood.

And yes Syl counts too because they still haven’t put out a Daffy or Fog charm and I like Bugs… but HATED the costume. (Folks - DO NOT pull on the ears. That is all.)

Hope you enjoy.

[melmac78]

Got my flower bracelet stamps now it needs to dry and then do the remaining steps. 

The centers are pretty much blank because that’s where the rivets are going to be.

I stamped the band underneath, so there would be texture with the flowers to create kind of a garden.

I’m thinking of doing the base in medium brown or briar brown and then the flowers in saddle tan. I might do a combination of saddle, tan and mahogany if the mahogany looks good.

Hope you enjoy.

••••••

I have another story for tomorrow, but since it’s Easter tied, I think I’m gonna leave it until tomorrow… my time.

[melmac78]

I thought about the Tigers, but trying to stamp it on the thicker leather. The borders would start showing from the square - so I’m going to do one using the tiger and other animals on a thinner leather. (Can still use my hook clasp, it just requires an overlap spot for stability.)

The last little bit of that particular leather, I tried the design on with the tigers. I’m willing to stamp with other designs and cut dry and turn into keyrings.

••••••

So since I already had this piece cut for a bracelet, I decided to go with the Texas design. I’ll probably not put a Concho on this particular one, but I’m going to use my smaller hinge hook.

I decided if I had any more of the Birdseye dots. It would become too busy.

This one’s going to be dyed a briar brown because I think that will look better.

Hope you enjoy.

[melmac78]

A mood… fused glass slider and a bracelet made with key fobs from a retired (and cost me $3 - normslky $12 for a pack of 12) retired Boy Scout key fobs.

The shape too is our parks and wildlife logo so that adds to it.

I’m thinking about duplicating a couple of the patterns into a rectangle band and concho pattern, but I think the strap needs to be thicker for newer conchos. (For reference, I have 4 military ones, a compass one, a swirly one, a Celtic knot one and sand dollar one, but they’re all wider wider than the thickness of leather I have for other bands.)

And yes, I’ve found my tools… though done have fallen to the bottom of the bucket. I plan on unboxing them, proper sorting the tools and stamping again soon. (If anything to vent out frustration healthily).