Pretty Easy Bracelet

Yesterday my friend Lindsey showed me how to make a really easy leather bracelet. She bought an awesome one at a boutique, and then realized that she could make them on her own! So... she brought her supplies and shared them (along with her crafting wisdom) with us lucky ladies.
Look at all of these beautiful leather scraps!

First I cut out the base shape of the bracelet out of a thicker leather, then I cut little circles for the flower layers out of the thinner, softer leather. I snipped some slits around the perimeter of each circle, then held them over a flame from a candle for a second or two until they started to curl. Isn't it amazing that a little fire can do that? I guess this would be a good time to tell you to be careful, and also that it's not a good idea to do this craft with little ones.

Then I layered three or four petal circles on top of each other, chose their placement, and hand-sewed them on. A thimble is a handy tool for this step. I also sewed a few seed beads in the center for a little extra sparkle. Then, I cut the slit for the button hole (notice that mine is a little crooked :), sewed on the button, and voila!

Cute, one-of-a-kind leather bracelet!

The great thing about this project is that you don't even have to break out the sewing machine! No finished edges needed.

Fun, right? Now you just have to go out and try to find a place that sells leather scraps. If you live in Phoenix, they sell them at SAS Fabrics on Indian School.. just don't clean them out before I get there!