Halloween Leather Bag Charm

We made a 3D leather Halloween pumpkin bag charm out of vegetable-tanned leather

Pencil

Marker

Paper, tracing paper and baking paper

Polymer clay

Leather modelling tool

Leather beading hammer

Veg-tanned leather, ideally bellies

Strong scissors and/or craft knife

Bulldog clips

Leather paint and brushes. Angelus is perfect

Cork filler. Renia brand is ideal.

Contact adhesive

2-prong stitching chisel

Harness needles and waxed thread

Fine sandpaper

Key ring (split ring) and brass dog snap

Use a pencil and your imagination to draw a spooky pumpkin. Make sure it's a design you'll be able to paint later.

Trace the pumpkin on clear film or tracing paper

Shape polymer clay to the boundaries of the traced pumpkin

Lay the traced pumpkin over the polymer clay, and use a modelling tool to trace the outline, leaving an indentation.

Use the modelling tool to create indentations for the eyes, mouth and ridges, smoothing the edges down.

Put the polymer clay onto a baking sheet, and bake in the oven until hard.

Select some vegetable-tanned leather from 0.8mm to 1.5mm thickness. Bellies work well, as they have more stretch than other cuts.

Cut out two pieces roughly 20mm larger all around than the clay pumpkin.

Soak one piece in water until fully saturated.

Using fingers, modelling tools and beading hammers, stretch and shape the leather around the clay until it is recognizable as a pumpkin.

Leaving the clay inside, use bulldog clips to clamp the front and flat back pieces of leather together while the leather dries.

Once the leather is dry, it will maintain its shape, and you can remove the clips and clay.

Cut two pieces of leather into a stalk shape. This will be sandwiched into the top of the pumpkin and form a loop for a keyring.

Using Angelus acrylic paints, colour and outline the pumpkin face, as well as a stalk. Use multiple shades of orange for shading, and paint a clear outline.

Once the paint is dry, spread cork filler into the cavity and allow to dry.

Spread contact adhesive over the front and back pieces. When ready, bring the two together, sandwiching the stalk, and beating with beading hammer.

Use a stitching chisel to punch stitching holes around the perimeter of the pumpkin, just outside the outline. A two-prong chisel is ideal.

With the pumpkin held gently but firmly in a stitching clamp, use saddle-stitch to sew the pumpkin together. The stalk should be sewn only around the top half to allow space for a keyring.

Cut out the pumpkin approximately 1mm to 2mm outside of the stitching using a craft knife.

Use fine grit sandpaper or an edge beveller to smooth the edges.

Use Angelus acrylic paint along the edge. Two or three coats may be required to get a smooth even finish.

Optionally, you can attach a snap hook to the keyring, so that you can easily clip the charm to your favourite bag and walk around feeling spooky.