LeatherCord USA Archives

Scenic Drive Stone Slab Necklace

August 14, 2016 By candiecooper 4 Comments

Full Disclosure: I work with Beadalon and LeatherCord USA. They are sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine.
This stone slab pendant (here me sigh a sigh of aw).

One of the women in this week’s Facebook Live video said it was picture Jasper. I believe it because each one is a landscape painting, a forrest, the painted dessert or whatever you see ….
I wire wrapped leather lace with Beadalon’s flat Artistic Wire. So easy! Simply make your leather link, then wrap the middle with the flat wire, crimping it with chain nose pliers in between each wrap to cinch it.
Little knots give the ends of the leather a finished look.

Materials list:

Beadalon flat artistic wire, 3mm width

Leathercord USA deertan lacing, 1/8″ width

Picture jasper pendant: etsy.com/shop/candiecooper

Watch the live video recap here and join me almost daily at 2:30 EST for the Candie Cooper Facebook Live Show featuring easy DIY jewelry making ideas.

Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Ride ‘Em Cowgirl! Make an Inlaid Leather Cuff Bracelet

April 19, 2016 By candiecooper 6 Comments

This post is sponsored by leathercord USA–all thoughts and opinions are mine.Saddle up, cowgirls and boys because I’ve got a saucy DIY leather cuff bracelet I think you’re going to love. It uses leathercord USA’s braid, round and bolo leathers which are set down in a silver cuff. It doesn’t take too long to make, but you do need a touch of patience because super glue dries fast and there are a lot of cords to keep organized.

Ok? That’s your warning.Meet the natural dyed leather look from leathercord USA. It is my very favorite because the dye is more transparent. I always love using earthy brights in my jewelry and these leather cords fit the bill. When you visit the lcusa website, look for the word “natural” in front of the color.Select a couple round cords (1 to 1.5 diameter), bolo cord (3mm), and flat braid (3 strand-2mm) in colors that make your heart sing. The cuff blank you can get from me–two sizes large and small. Email or comment for details! To prep the cuff, I used my chain nose pliers to open up the little ridge of metal so I could push the cords down in.You can lay out your leather cording or you can wing it like I did. I actually think I got very lucky how well these fit down in the recessed silver cuff area. Use your trusty Loctite Gel Adhesive to secure the leather jewelry cords to the silver cuff blank.Press and hold the cords down a bit in between–this is where you need the patience because sometimes the glue oozes out and you have to be quick!Trim the cords and put some glue down in, behind the silver flap, and tuck them in.

It was at this point where I thought to myself, I think I was a little inspired by my skirt! Haha. And that I have a pink problem–it’s a go to color as of late. This was a super fun project loaded with instant gratification.

Be sure to visit leathercord USA to check out the natural dyed leather lines and style for all your jewelry making needs. leathercord USA to check out the natural dyed leather lines and style for all your jewelry making needs.

Filed Under: Leather

Moonlit Owl – DIY Leather Bracelet

February 19, 2016 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by LeatherCord USA.We’ve had a break in the weather today—-perfect for you know what this weekend! Yes! A cozy fire in our new fire pit.Sitting around a fire in nature is so restorative for my soul (not to sound dramatic, haha). I just love the ambience of it: the sounds, being outside, toasty hoodies…. We like to make sandwiches and treats in our pie irons for these winter picnics. It is these simple pleasures that make life sweet.

Today’s project is brought to you by LeatherCord USA.com I put this little DIY owl bracelet on my Instagram feed (@candiecooper if you want to see behind the scenes in real time) and had a few people ask about buying it! I love that. I’ve worn it a few times and gotten compliments too so I think it’s worth sharing so you can make your own.

The secret is having large holed beads that work perfectly with the 1.5 diameter natural blue round leather cord. You can braid and weave the leather easily through beads like this to get a solid look. These beads are from Tierra Cast and the owl from Green Girls Studio.Once you get the beads in place, it’s time to CAREFULLY measure. Michelle at leatherCord USA and I have a joke about measuring many times before cutting–somehow we always make things too small. I want to show you a trick so you can get yours to fit just right.

Do as I say…not as I do. Haha.These are leatherCord USA’s Glue and Go findings. They come in all different diameters, styles, and metal colors. The key to sizing your bracelet is remembering to account for the recessed area inside the finding.Measure this piece end to end and subtract it from your finished bracelet size, then add 1/2″ (1/4″ on each side) for the recessed areas and this is what length you should cut your leather pieces.

Clear as mud right?You can always shave a little off at a time and test the fit as you go.When you’re positive you have the right length, use the Loctite Adhesive to glue the ends in.The natural leather finishes are some of my very favorites. With the earthy fashions this spring, these leather cords for jewelry making are going to be hot! You’ll find them on this page at the bottom of the color chart–look for natural before the color name.

Get fine leather and the special Glue and Go findings from leatherCordUSA.com.

Filed Under: Leather

Eden: Gemstone Necklace with Round Braided Leather

January 8, 2016 By candiecooper 6 Comments

This post brought to you by LeatherCordUSA.com It’s raining here today. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest when I have the joy of staying inside and making jewelry.

Yesterday was gorgeous. Today it’s overcast and drizzly. Yin and Yang.

So with this gray day, I’m presenting a piece that is lush in gems and texture.It started with a pile of this unique round braided bolo leather from LeatherCordUSA.com. I can’t tell you how much I’m intrigued with this stuff. It comes in different finishes and diameters. Really really amazing quality.I opted for the natural finish for this piece. It’s thick and perfect to support the weight of the gem section in the front. Speaking of gems…I’ve had these hanks of gemstones hanging in my studio for two years. They were inexpensive so I bought a lot. The time had come to use them and as is because the odd bead shapes together made my eyes happy. The only thing was I felt it needed a tiny bit of contrast yet something to unify the group so I added tiny copper colored rondelles to each strand.I used Beadalon gold 15 strand beading wire so it blended with the stone colors, then crimped them to a wrapped wire loop with #1 crimp beads.Then I strung the large bead cone onto the wire with a few beads and finished with a wrapped loop. Nice and tidy.Nothing but colorful goodness.Once you have the gemstone section secured, cut the leather to the desired size and glue end caps to the Glue and Go findings. I removed the clasp that came with the end findings and connected it to toggle rings which were then connected to the bead cones to create a decorative element.My plan is to wear this as a layering necklace. I will create some shorter chain and pendant pieces to go with it.

Visit LeatherCord USA for more inspiring leather jewelry ideas.

Filed Under: Bead Love, Leather, Tutorials

The Leather Scout Bracelet

October 15, 2015 By candiecooper 2 Comments

This post brought to you by LeatherCordUSA.com.
Good morning, campers! Autumn is here and the mornings are brisk, making that hot coffee taste extra amazing. I call this the scout bracelet because of the colors, textures and the fact that it seems kind of multi-purpose: you can wear it as a bracelet, a necklace, or tie the tent pulls together (you know, if you need too).
Where do you find inspiration? For me, it’s often in the materials. I was collecting and gathering things around my studio to use with the LeatherCord USA suede and 10mm wide deertan lace. It comes in a ton of colors, but this green and brown combo was perfect for a fall statement bracelet.
I really didn’t want to cut this nice long piece of lace so the first thing I did was experiment with stitching the two leather types together. The pair has a nice contrast with the matte suede and smooth deertan lace surfaces.
Not going to lie—it was tricky keeping the leather and stitches in the center. I slowed the machine to “as slow as it would go” speed. This is an all purpose needle, but I plan to put a new one in before I start piecing fabric together again. After a yard of sewing leather, it’s sure to be dull.
Not in the photo is this buckle clasp and rivet from Tierra Cast.
You’ll need to hole punch the leather so it fits perfectly with the rivet diameter. Put the skinny part in through the layers back to front and top with the mushroom piece.
I changed the buckle piece up a bit by adding the wood ring to make the bracelet a little more chunky. Place the rivet section on top of a steel block and tap the top of the rivet with an eyelet setter or simply a plastic mallet.

Tip-seal the back side of the leather at the end with Fieblings Leather glue to keep the stitches from unraveling.
Wrap and roll. I love lots of wraps, but you could do a couple and trim the leather exactly how you want.
Did I mention I love lots of wraps?
Here’s another experiment with zig zag stitching and colorful leather. Only a couple wraps here…and you don’t have to “walk the line” while sewing! For the free spirits in my life.
This would make a great steampunk jewelry accessory piece too.

Visit LeatherCord USA for great leather products and more ideas.

Filed Under: Leather, Tutorials

DIY Printed Leather Jewelry Idea

September 25, 2015 By candiecooper 2 Comments

This post brought to you by LeatherCord USA.The other day I was walking out to the car and I heard a new, but old familiar sound—leaves crunching under my feet. Persimmons are also dropping all over the yard. They are a really pretty orange color (not so pretty when mashed under your favorite cowboy boots, but….). The crisp mornings just make that coffee taste better and better and I find myself gearing up for pumpkin decorating and trips to the orchard. Are you finding yourself inspired by the colors and feelings that fall brings?Here are some printed stitched leather pieces I brought home from my LeatherCord USA visit. The texture in this stuff. I LOVE IT! It also comes in a beautiful palette of colors. Click the link above to see all of them.I’m using an extra wide magnetic clasp so I can fit a whopping seven cords in it. Play around with the order of your cords so you get it just right.Determine the fit and then cut the cords with wire cutters or a razor blade. Glue the leather in the magnetic clasp finding like usual using the Loctite Gel adhesive. Can you tell I really love this technique?! It’s new to me and I’m ready to take on the world. For reals. What else can we glue leather onto?It’s perfectly beautiful like this, I think. But, just for fun, I wanted to play with some of these large holed beads I found at Michaels.I love the metal finishes with the center beads, but felt like it conflicted with all the leather colors.Instead, I opted to slide the bead/bail pieces on, one or two per leather strand.I then connected a leaf charm and Swarovski dangle to the bail piece with a jump ring. This was nice because it added some movement (and sparkle!).Just a really beautiful addition to your fall wardrobe and easy to create.

*Leather and adhesive from LeatherCordUSA.com

*Beads and charms from Michaels craft store

*Magnetic Clasp from JesseJamesBeads.com

Filed Under: Beads, Jewelry, Leather

DIY Leather Jewelry

August 14, 2015 By candiecooper Leave a Comment

This post brought to you by LeatherCord USA.Let the good times roll for it is THE weekend!

High fives! WE made it!

How about another quickie project featuring LeatherCord USA Leather Strap and Bolo cord?Leather strap is the main part of this project and LeatherCord USA makes it in a ton of colors. That’s one of the reasons I love these guys. For this project I played with the metallic “Kansa” color. It’s a stiffer leather and softens the more you wear it (like all leather).

These are the basic materials. Pretty simple:

Leather Strap in Kansa

4mm Bolo Cord in Kansa

Chunky wood chain (or any large link chain)

Adhesive

Somewhere in my excitement I forgot to put the bolo cord into the shot. I used round cord and the Glue and Go clasp pictured for the pink bracelet variation.This is so easy. I think I’m in love. The first thing you do is cut the chain with heavy duty wire snips to the desired length. Then figure out how long you want the strap, add a couple inches and cut.

Thread the strap through one end of the chain and fold it over one inch.Add a drop or two of glue and use clothespins to hold it together while the glue sets up (like in the previous photo).Wrap a few inches of bolo cord around the connection area to add a little something. You know! Use the same glue and clips to hold it in place while it dries. Trim any excess bolo cord after it dries.Just for fun, you can make a bracelet with pretty much this same technique. I used the round cord to create a spiral knot instead of wrapping it with bolo cord. Here’s a link to a spiral knot tutorial from LeatherCord USA. If you love that clasp–there’s a link to it up in the materials.