u/ConsciousAd5711

A wedding gift for my brother and sister in law. I included the original sketched pattern though I ended up tweaking it slightly. My brother is a mycologist so for his I tooled Chicken of the Woods; when I was teaching foraging I told kids that if you’re ever lost in the woods, to look out for it because it may save your life. Maybe it’s too niche, but I thought it would be suiting in a symbolic way. For his wife, I did an olive branch to represent prosperity, connection, and a peaceful marriage. The two love hiking so I wanted to make something to keep their rings safe when they go adventuring :)

My only complaints are my dye job on the mushrooms, they turned out too muddy and indistinct, and the carved initials/date. They're very tiny and the dye made it a little muddy as well. I should’ve done it on the front panel like the original sketch. Oh well! Live and learn.

I took D out on a hike for the first time today. He’s gone to parks and more suburban areas previously but I’ve always wanted tot take him to the woods. Today, we finally had the perfect weather and location. His tail was puffed the entire time! He really enjoyed listening to the birds and squirrels, pressing his body flat against the ground to hide himself. I found it so interesting how well his fur blended in around the logs and fallen leaves, where ferrets would naturally burrow. Nature is so cool in that way.

Perfect way to spend the morning with my best friend 🥰

One of my good friends told me he was interested in getting a journal to document local plant species. He wanted motivation to explore more parks and nature preserves. I told him not to buy anything! It took some time, but I designed custom pages on cardstock as he wants to use acrylics to illustrate.

This was a great project to practice binding. I’m interested in designing more journals, it’s been a focus of mine in my leather working journey. I wanted this one to look “rustic” so that made the dying process much less stressful. I like the scuffs and inconsistencies. I chose a leather piece with some scarring, using this section as the backing. The front is tooled with snapdragons, his favorite species of flower. This was a challenge! This is my 3rd tooling project, the snapdragons were much more complex than I expected. I spent about 7 hours tooling, from transferring my drawing onto the leather to final touches.

I first wanted to use leather strips to hold the text block in place, but it seemed too bulky. I cut it out and replaced with 1.5 mm elastic. I think it looks cleaner than I expected. I added another elastic band on the back to hold the right pages, to avoid the wind blowing them about while he illustrates the left pages.

The spine adopted some “wrinkling” which I don’t love. Does anybody have any advice on how to avoid this? Thank you for your advice.

Raiden has been so shy the majority of his time at our home, but ever since we adopted Revvy he has really come out of his shell! Spending time playing with him has been so sweet.

I live in a small apartment where storage has to be as efficient as possible, so right now all my gear is just stuck into a cardboard box. Thats very annoying when I work because I have to dig through everything or lay it all out. I’ve been thinking of how else to store it, maybe a tool box??? a tackle box?! What works best for you? I appreciate any recommendation.

My dad lost his eye a few months ago which inspired me to start leather working. I wanted to be able to make him custom, comfortable eyepatches as he adjusts to some major life changes. He is the world’s biggest Tool fan, so I practiced my own tooling to make this for him (haha pun intended) inspired by the 1000 days Art. I read that tooling and wet forming together was very difficult, but I found that using something to hold the shape as I did my tooling worked well enough. I cased the leather then wet formed it. After it dried slightly I used some tinfoil and a towel to keep its shape as I tooled. After leaving it to dry, I dyed and painted it. I lined the inside of the patch with mulberry silk. Using a water based glue, I applied a thin layer to the inside then smoothed the silk over it. I used an exacto knife to trim the excess. As I finished the edges the frayed edge smoothed and an edge kote helped it all come together. I sealed it up and added a strap. The strap is actually the roughest part, I’ll buy deerskin lace next time. I mailed it to him this week, I can’t wait to hear what he try thinks of it!

Rather than wasting the evening doomscrolling, I’ve started leather working when I get off the clock. It makes me feel so fulfilled being able to make real, long lasting goods for my friends. I no longer feel like I’m wasting my life or that I have no time. I have time to read, rest, and create every single day.

My 4th project, first time working independently with raw leather. I will definitely need to invest in a skiver and work on punching straight holes! I’m not happy with the edges and will be picking up some sandpaper. I will also dye it AFTER punching holes next time, which should have been obvious in retrospect… Definitely a learning process with this one.
However, this was my first time tooling leather and I’m very happy with how it came out. I freehanded with the swivel knife and enjoyed the meditative process of adding dimension and texture. It wasn't perfect by any means, but after painting it, it came together quite well. I also freehanded the initials inside and think they came out relatively clean!

The function of this gift is to hold a notepad, like a legal pad. The back board of the pad slides into the sleeve inside which holds it snugly while still being easy to replace. It is a gift for a big Carolina Hurricanes fan, I’ll let you know his reaction when he receives it tonight!

My out of state friend was in the area, I’ve been really enjoying painting these bracelets so I whipped one up for him. I free handed the design, let me know your thoughts and advice.

Trying out leather paint, first try at bracelets. I think the little pendant is cool, but I’m a little worried about it getting snagged and ripping off.

This is my second project, first time using dye and edge paintwork. The “silver” edges definitely didn’t come out how I wanted, I worked on this at a workshop and an employee didn’t realize I had painted it. He put black dye over while touching it up😵‍💫 But! Overall, I am happy with it. I think some of the black bleeding on the red inside makes it look weathered and adds character.