Cheap Eats and Thrifty Crafts

DIY Leather Projects: Leather Cuff and Zipper Necklace

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Recycled leather is so fun to work with. It has a classy look and is durable, which makes it an ideal material for jewelry making. It’s easy to create a modern open work and decorative edged cuff out of recycled leather along with a darling heart necklace with a bit of zipper with just a few passes through a die cutter and few other bits. These DIY leather projects also work really well together!

 

DIY Leather Cuff Bracelet:

Step 1:

Die cut the center openwork part with the Sheena Geometric Cut Out Die. This die doesn’t have a border cut, it just cuts all the little openings.

Step 2:

Then, use the open scallop die from the Die’sire Decorative Edges set along each side of the open work area. This die only cuts the scallop side and the open work but not the straight side.

Step 3:

All that’s left to do is trim down the ends to fit on your wrist and glue a bit of Velcro on each side to secure. Really, that’s how easy it is to get a detailed open work leather cuff!

 

Heart Zipper Necklace:

Step 1:

Die cut leather hearts out of black and red recycled leather using the Die’sire mixed-media heart set. Layer them together.

Step 2:

Measure the zipper to fit around your neck with about 1.5 inch overlap.

Step 3:

Then, simply glue the two layers of hearts on one end of the zipper.

Step 4:

Glue small pieces of Velcro on each end to overlap under the heart.

Step 5:

To add a final bit of bling, cut the shank off of a gold button and glue it to the center of the heart.

 

I highly recommend looking at your dies and think about how they may work for some fun DIY leather projects made with recycled leather.

 

How will you use your recycled leather?

 

Stefanie Girard is a crafter with a re-purpose. She has been cutting stuff up since she was old enough to hold a pair of scissors in her tiny hands. She earned her degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and move to Los Angeles to work in the entertainment industry first as a Set Decorator and Prop Master then onto TV Producer specializing in How-To TV shows for HGTV and the DIY Networks. After writing 5 craft books for the Quarto Publishing Group she now spreads the crafty word online through book reviews and original projects with a focus on recycled elements at SweaterSurgery.blogspot.com.

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