leather jewery making Archives

Easy Leather Jewelry

This post brought to you by LeatherCord USA.What’s a girl to do with a pile of delicious flat leather braid that she brought back from her visit to LeatherCord USA headquarters? Make hot bracelets. That’s what.
In this post we are climbing on the gray and gold fashion jewerly train to make this slick bracelet. Like it? You’re really going to like it when you see how easy it goes together.
Here are the basic supplies needed: razor blade, gold Glue and Go magnetic clasp, 9 strand braid in natural gray, and Locktite adhesive. LeathercordUSA.com is a one stop shop for the supplies (sans blade). This is the 9 and 5 strand flat braid. You can use this clasp with the 5 strand braid. If you’re shopping the LCUSA site, look at the bottom of the page for the product dimensions to help with matching clasps and cords.
The bracelet is so easy to make, I feel guilty! Grab your Locktite adhesive for leather and metal joining. Put a bead of glue along the backside edge of the leather braid.
Slide it in one side of the metal clasp. The braid and clasp are off in size by 1mm, but it doesn’t matter because the braid can “smoosh” a little to fit.
I stuck this shot in for a detail of the clasp. It’s pretty. Not too shiny and just the right amount of texture for a great designer look.Check the fit of the bracelet and then cut with a fresh razor blade. Do not use the one that has scraped windows with a lot of paint on them during a rennovation project just because it’s near by. Stop. Get up. And go get a fresh blade. I might be talking to myself here.

A note of safety: Carefully dispose of razor blades or store in a safe place…for obvious reasons.
Put a line of glue on the back edge of the leather and slide it into the other side of the magnetic clasp. Guess what?
We’re done.
Now do you see why I feel guilty?

Let the adhesive sit up according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Chic in gray and gold or brown and silver…
Are you making Christmas gifts this year? Need an idea for how to make some extra cash? This is it.

LeatherCord USA for the goods

How to Form Leather Flowers

This post brought to you by LeatherCord USA.April showers bring May leather flowers. This is part I of a two part post all about working with leather flowers to make jewelry and embellishments. Get excited because these things are like super yummy calorie free candy! Who can make the sunshine, already!?!These are just some of the flower colors available. I love all the fun shapes and the sizes make them perfect for stacking!To be honest, I’ve never been able to leave well…well enough alone. So welcome to my brain where I think, “how can I ~~wreck~~ alter these flowers today?” First up: FORMING.

Soak the flowers in a bowl of water for a couple minutes.Then you can push them into shaped containers while they dry so they hold their shape or….squish, pinch, fold and twist them with your fingers. SO many options!One idea will lead to another and another…. Did I mention this is a two part post?Second way to ~~wreck~~ form the flowers is to cut and fringe said flowers. You can re-wet the flowers at any point to form them more.One of my most favorite findings are tie-tack findings with a glue on pad. I’ll warn you now that if you plan on selling these, you’ll hear over and OVER that they will leave a hole in your shirt. My response: thank you for the day you were born (but I’m still doing it my way). For this piece, I cut the back off of a button and glued it to the tie tack.Then you can start stacking the leather pieces behind it.Yes, I know it’s going to make a hole in that purse. Thanks for letting me know (and the day you were born).Sweet right? I think these would make the cutest bridesmaid clutches. I got this linen clutch at the craft store P.S. You could also stencil it first with an accent color and then embellish with the leather flowers.It’s my birthday this week. I think I just made myself a present. 😉