bison Report post Posted March 14, 2011 As you all know, Tandy sometimes has less than perfect leather for sale. I went in my store last week and saw a pile of hides that looked like the'd fallen off the truck and been drug from Dallas to OKC! I mean, they were horrible. On the whole hide there might have been 20% usable leather. They were selling them for about 60% off. Now, I do hand-sewn sketch books/journals for artists and writers. I sell a lot of these at local museums. Over the years i have found that some folks like the look of an old-time, worn out leather cover. So I bought one of these bad hides and cut out this cover, tooled it where there was good leather, and faded out the tooling where the grain side was worn off. I filled it with 192 pages (front and back) of 80-pound recycled sketch paper, suitable for pen and ink or any dry media, hand stitched that in and created this unique clasp with a wooden "O" and bead with round leather lace. I dyed it with several different colors/coals of Fiebings, antiqued it, and finished with Resolene. I put the hand-pressed paper with leaves embedded in it on the inside to protect the paper from any dye transfer. I love the way it turned out, and it will sell for twice what the whole hide cost...and I can make about six more out of it! Makin' lemonade out of lemons! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CitizenKate Report post Posted March 14, 2011 Makin' lemonade out of lemons! Nice! Lemonade, indeed, I guess you'd better go back and offer them a special price to take the rest of those lemons off their hands. This reminds me of a wallet tutorial KK posted a couple of years ago... it began with, "I went to my scrap bin and pulled out the crappiest piece of leather I could find..." and he turned it into something beautiful. Kate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildrose Report post Posted March 15, 2011 Great job! I really love it :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnggrg Report post Posted March 15, 2011 I see what you mean about the leather loking like it had been drug behind a truck. You did an excelant job at making it in to something really nice!!! Great job. I wonder why they even bother with hides like that. Instead of selling them they should give them away when you spend so much in the store. But anyway great job like the closure and design. Keep it up! john Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bison Report post Posted March 15, 2011 I like your thinking, Kate! Nice! Lemonade, indeed, I guess you'd better go back and offer them a special price to take the rest of those lemons off their hands. This reminds me of a wallet tutorial KK posted a couple of years ago... it began with, "I went to my scrap bin and pulled out the crappiest piece of leather I could find..." and he turned it into something beautiful. Kate Thanks Holly and John. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to make this leather work for me. And John, the idea of giving a piece of that away when you spend so much...sounds like you and Kate are on the same brain-wave! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragonspit Report post Posted March 15, 2011 Dave, as usual not only nice work, but creatively thought out. When I see things like this I realize how streamline my thinking is and need to open my mind. that being said, as new as I am, I have my hands full with just doing stuff, lol. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
