Tattooed Leather Jewelry

We made these because we found some beautiful leather scraps at a reclaimed materials store, and just knew we had to make something terrific with them.

To make leather jewelry, you will need a few things:

• Scrap Leather
• Temporary Tattoos
• Leather Sealant (such as Fiebig's Leather Sheen)
• Jump Rings
• Earring Hooks (if you want to make earrings)
• 16" Chain Necklace (if you want to make a necklace)

You will also need some tools:

• Leather Shears
• Eyelet and Snap Punch (such as Crop-A-Dile)
• Needle Nose Pliers
• Paintbrush
• Washcloth or Sponge
• Stencil or Cardboard Shaped Template
• A Pen

(Note: you can use leather dye pens - shown here but not used - to draw additional pictures or add color)

Grab your scrap leather, stencil or template, and pen, and draw an outline of the shape you would like for your jewelry to be. In this case, we did a simple crescent moon shape for the necklace, and long teardrops for the earrings.

This step is pretty self-explanatory, just cut along the lines you just drew. Using leather shears is definitely different than scissors, as you get a much cleaner cut.

For this step, follow the directions that come with your temporary tattoos, which should be approximately:

• Cut the tattoo from the sheet
• Remove the outer plastic lining
• Place the tattoo face down on the leather
• Apply a wet washcloth to the back of the tattoo paper for ~30 seconds
• Peel off the tattoo paper
• Allow the tattoo to dry

Once the tattoo is dry, you'll want to seal it to ensure the tattoo doesn't rub off easily, as well as sealing the leather smooths the raw cut edges and creates a water-resistant barrier. To seal, just dip a paintbrush into the sealant and apply a light layer to the front and sides of the leather in an even coat. You can apply a second coat if you desire.

Using a pen, mark the spots where you intend to attach your jewelry findings. Pay attention to the size of the hole punch when determining where to make your mark. Then, using your Crop-A-Dile (or any leather punching tool), punch out the holes where you will be adding jump rings, and then add them.

To make a necklace:

• Cut a silver chain in half and attach jump rings to either side of the chain (note: you can assemble a whole necklace with a chain and clasps if you're already confident in your jewelry making skills.
• Measure to ensure that the length of each side of the necklace plus the width of the leather piece sits correctly and is the length you want it to be
• Attach the cut side of the chain on each side to your leather necklace piece using the jump rings

To make earrings:

• Attach one or two jump rings to your leather earring pieces depending on which direction you would like the earrings to sit (one jump ring will make them face sideways, two jump rings will make them face forward)
• Attach earring hook to the topmost jump ring
• Admire your beautiful earrings (that's right, you made those!)