OMG. Luxirare has done it again!

Knocked it out of the ballpark! Considering my love of hardware, I'm swooning over how she used hardware when designing and making a leather travel bag and remained so true to her style.

Check out her travel bag, just check it out!

Photo from Luxirare

I have a pile of hardware with visions of stylish bags dancing in my dreams. After weeks of traveling for work, have a few days to play. I think I'll play with hardware and leather and fabric today.

Thank you Luxirare for the inspiration ...

Obsessed With Double Belts

UPDATE: J.Jill sells this belt in gray and black for $34 now.

I've considered getting a very simple double belt like this Eileen Fisher belt at Garnet Hill for quite awhile:

It's also online at Dillards, Nordstrom, Neiman-Marcus and Saks in various colors. I love the minimalism. No buckle to imply any style so you can take other accessories in different directions. Right now Nordstrom has the Graphite color in one size only on sale for under $50 but it's $98 everywhere else. It is Made in America, in NYC. So that's a bonus by my count lately.

I may experiment with making a similar style. You can get a 72" length of leather strip at Tandy Leather in various widths. The 3/4" width is $13.99 for 72" strip. But it's natural cowhide, so the option to color it is a plus or minus depending on how much project you want to take on. Of course Tandy has dyes, paints and stains in many colors, and Edge Kote if you want the edges to look nice and finished. Tandy also has the tools to punch holes, and if you have to purchase these just for this project, the DIY ROI starts to look not-so-good. Although I already own these from scrapbooking projects.

And for the final important piece, Tandy has the Stud Thingie. Yes that is an official term in my house.

Or for a rocker chick look, try a dog collar spike:

I don't know about you, but I've never had a dog tough-looking enough to pull off wearing spikes on its collar without looking silly. I'd probably look silly wearing spikes too!

I already have a Stud Thingie, so the only thing needed is a leather strip long enough to wrap around my waist and upper hip area twice.

Save on shipping by seeing if there's a Tandy store in your area.

I should add, I don't mean to be an inadvertent shill for Tandy only. Their brand-building works as it's the first name that popped to mind. There are many other sources for these same supplies such as Zack White Leather Company which has a larger selection, and many at lower prices: long leather strips for double belts in many widths and you can even choose a preferred thickness, button studs, a ton of dyes and finishes, and tools like belt punches.

If you want a finished leather or a textured leather, try leatherwise on eBay. You may need to double up the leather and edgestitch and possibly piece strips together to make the belt long enough. This metallic blend of copper and brass in their eBay store would make a gorgeous belt:

Or how about this brown embossed ostrich texture:

You could also call their store in Santa Cruz, CA to see what leather solutions they have. I've ordered from their eBay store many times and loved all leathers I've received.

Wa-la ... a double wrap belt for not a bad price!

Snaking Its Way Into My Life

I've never been very afraid of snakes. When we were little kids, the boys in my neighborhood played with bugs and snakes. This was in the days before cable TV and video games. When we actually spent most summer days outside. Us girls kept a respectful distance, but I was never scared. Even when opening the mailbox one day and garter snakes rained down out of it. On me. Surprising and shocking, yes. Super scary, no, not as much as big hairy spiders. Now that's scary.

The shedded snake skins in our backyard were fascinating, and pretty.

So no surprise that I'd fall for the python trend. I am not trendy, so I tried to resist. But resistance is futile.

Here's what I plan:

Sources:
Python coating fabric from EOS
Leather strap in chocolate brown, beige, camel, ??? I need the python fabric in hand to decide.
Chocolate Bemberg lining (or a fuschia or chartreuse would be a fun surprise)
Possibly View C of Kwik Sew 3133 -- a design with a flap
Large oval turnlock on the flap
I'd attach the strap with D-rings or rectangular rings to balance the flap hardware

If you want to make a handbag to take for a walk on the wild side, leatherwise on eBay has great thin leathers for sewing. Right now, embossed and printed leathers up for auction:  lizard, python, crocodile, baby tiger, gator, jaguar, crazy zebra, ostrich, cheetah, stingray, tortoise shell and more. This crocodile has a ton of texture. Lizards and python and crocodile are in various colors. They have beautiful floral embosssed leathers too. No affiliation, I'm just an occasional customer who's loved every leather I've purchased from this seller. If auctions have ended, keep stalking them, often they're relisted.

Disclaimer: No baby tigers were harmed in the making of this post.

Calorie-Free Chocolate

The post below about leather for the French Country carryall reminded me, the Anthropologie Mauritius Bag knockoff is sitting dormant on a desk because ... I need leather. Totally forgot about that project. As you see here, I have more ideas and visual obsessions than the discipline to complete a project.

And now summer is here. This is a yellow and white eyelet bag! It must be finished. Soon.

While I have chocolate color leather, it's about 2-2.5 ounces and a bear to sew, especially double thickness. I need a thinner, more pliable and drapey leather for my machine to handle. Leatherwise on eBay has never let me down in the leather department. One example, check this out, don't you just want to lick this?!




From Leatherwise, I have corduroy ribbed leather, tiny leopard print suede (which I made into a hat posted on PatternReview), silky black lambskin, delicate lilac suede, oh I love their leathers. The pieces are just enough for sewing an accessory or adding trim. The distressed pieces would make great coat/jacket collars and casual totes. Or what about making slippers to wear around the house? You could use their animal print leathers to make stuffed animals. I don't know if the dye lots on individual pieces are similar enough to buy multiple pieces for a larger project though, but probably worth contacting Leatherwise.