Creating with tooling leather is very exciting and really simulates the imagination.
I first start learning to make the leather feather jewelry I make and have been selling since January 1996. I also learned to make the leather leaves and leather leathers. From what I have learned by doing all these different items, I have enjoyed making one of a kind and custom items from tooling leather.
I am in the progress of making lessons to teach people how to create their own items without being limited by others lessons. I am not going to even try to compete with the lessons Paul Burnett has created. He is a master in his leather creations and in the lessons he has created for others to learn to tool and paint tooling leather. The are available to purchase on www.paintingcow.com.
The following are samples of what I have made. I will be making unique and custom items for sale.
This is a Dragonfly barrette I had made for my Granddaughter’s birthday. Her theme that year was Dragonflies. This Dragonfly barrette is about 4 inches long.
I hand tooled, shaped, and painted this rose pin. I was doing some items for a Valentine Day’s craft show.
This For-Get-Me-knot heart box was a Christmas for a young lady who collects boxes. It’s all done in tooling leather. Every little bud is a single piece of leather. It’s about 2 inches from top to peak of heart.
This is a custom dragon made from tooling leather. I had made a wire mandrel shaped with tin foil, love tin foil, then covered that with air dry Sculpy. When I skive the leather feathers I make I have fine leather shaving. I use Beacon FABRI-TAC, a permanent clear glue mixed with the shavings which I used for the body. Each claw is a separate piece of leather. Detail was crucial in finalizing this piece.
Close up of the dragon above I made.
This was an amazing custom project. I was asked to replicate in leather the Vietnamese Coolie Hat. I had never made a leather hat prior to this one. Making the conical crown was an interesting challenge. I found on a leathercrafter website that the best way to make a black dye was to put rusty nails in a jar of vinegar. I ended up leaving it for about 3 months, longer is better. This makes the most beautiful black leather that does stain what it touches once dried. You do want to use gloves to apply it for it will stain your hands when working with it.