Stretchmarks!

Oh, it's been a long time since I've posted!  Sorry about that!  I've been busy in my shed leading up to Christmas and some of the projects I've been working on have been for gifts, so I've not been able to photograph them.  There was also a spell of cold weather which made working in the shed a bit miserable to say the least ........

Brrrrr, the little jug of water that I keep for dampening the leather has completely frozen solid and on a few nights, I had to bring my bottles of dye into the caravan to stop them freezing too.  Luckily, it's just raining now so it's much better (if I can make it across the muddy garden without slipping over onto my bum that is!!).

Here is the beginning of a covered notebook.  The leather is completely raw at this stage and very easily marked.  It's lucky that I hate having long fingernails, as the tiniest little scratch at this stage in the making will show up for ever!  Once the dye has been applied and the leather is buffed and polished, it is sealed and protected and can take the usual daily battering and I can breathe easier!

And here it is, freshly dyed and drying off.  It is at this stage that the leather really reveals itself and all sorts of marks and patterns appear.  Leather is a completely natural material and no two pieces are the same.  Think about your own skin, the years of wear and tear and changes that it has been through - weight loss, weight gain, injury, dehydration, allergy etc etc.  Well, those are the marks that you see on a piece of leather.  The hide that this notebook cover was cut from has some beautiful stretch marks on it, naturally created as the animal grew and matured.  They make a lovely, almost marbled effect when the dye is applied and they are picked out.  Now, tell me stretchmarks aren't beautiful!!!

And here it is, waxed, lined, laced and all finished.  I love making these and I want to make myself a leather writing notebook, but I haven't decided on the pattern yet. 

And now Christmas is over, I can show you this handsome chap!  I was asked to make a Green Man last month and this is how he came out!  I was a bit apprehensive as I'd not done anything like that before, but I was really pleased with the results!

 Here is a personal organiser that I made a few weeks ago, using one of my horse sketches.  It has now flown all the way to Nashville!

So that's a bit of what I've been up to.  My camera is back now, so I can take more pictures, although the light in my shed is usually too dark at this time of year.  Isn't it great that the shortest day has been and gone.  Even though Winter is far from over, the daylight hours are getting longer - yippeee!!

Happy Christmas!