Eggplant Leather Mini Cross Body Bag

 

 This color was made for this bag...when I made the first little cross body bag I dyed it red.  After I made it I thought it would be beautiful in a deep eggplant color...

 This color is gorgeous because it's so rich....

It looks really striking with the natural leather closure and strap.

 While we were trying to get some photos the chickens decided to visit...they are just sure you have food for them every time you come outside.....

 Very happy with this little beauty...it went to my niece as a Christmas gift.  She loves purple and I couldn't wait for her to have it.

I have another purse to share that is a different style.  It is done in the two tone, and I fell in love with it.  It was hard to let it go...I really like the colors and natural leather mixed together.

 

A new color to add to our Etsy selection for sure.

The chicken will NOT be on the Etsy shop...

We have some new ideas for bags to add...I like to carry small bags but I know most ladies like something larger so I think it's time to add some bigger options to our shop...

Fall

 Things are changing a lot around here...

it's been a crazy month.  

My son started school this fall going a half day to kindergarten and after meeting with his teacher we  decided to move him to full day....

 I wasn't really ready for that one...So now he's gone all day and I get to enjoy Mighty by herself...

 And my husband's job was affected by the government shutdown so that definitely rocked our "normal" this month...

 Mostly I'm trying to enjoy fall...

Thankful for my family and the beauty that God created on this Earth for us to enjoy.  I don't really love winter but I do love the change of seasons.

And there is so much there if you just look...slowing down is hard for me.

My brain is always in high gear ---

full of family and responsibilities, serving at our church and creative ideas of new things I 'd love to make or do....

 But just this morning I read "Be still and know that I am God..."  

So glad He is...

Waxed Canvas & Leather Backpack

The final waxed canvas backpack

He is so excited which is nice--

 sometimes he says he'd like us to make something and then he loses interest....

This will be the ultimate durability test of one of our goods.  If it can survive him and kindergarten it can survive anything!

I did a separate post about waxing it here

It seems to be setting up better now that it's been sitting a little longer....

The buckle and leather logo strap keeper are hand stitched.  The rest of it was sewn on my Sailrite machine....

The legs of the mechanic's suit we used had these little tabs with buttons to tighten the leg up around their boot....

I decided to use them instead of adding a drawstring or other closure at the top of the pack.  These make it smaller at the top so it all fits under the flap a little better.

Our first go at the copper rivets...LOVE these.  They just have a really cool look....

 They go through a hole in the leather and have a washer that gets hammered down flush with the leather....

The posts get cut off....

 And the silver setter has a second domed shape to hammer the raw/ cut edge down smoother to hold the washer in place.....

My machine does a great job sewing through some pretty heavy layers.  It's made to sew sails for boats and will go through up to 8 layers of heavy canvas or something crazy like that....

The straps are adjustable with some button studs so we can let it out a bit for the winter coats....

And because it's Doodle's we used our original wood flying "V" stamp on the patch holding the straps on....

I still can't believe he's going to school...part of me is so sad to see him go and part of me is so happy to see him start a new adventure. 

Waxing a Canvas Backpack

We have been talking about making a waxed canvas and leather backpack for awhile and we've also talked about making a backpack for our son who is starting kindergarten this year....

so I started sketching up and idea for what we wanted....

 My husband had this olive drab herringbone fabric  ( a mechanic's suit) that he wanted me to use to make a hat for him.  

But when we started talking about a backpack and doing canvas and leather our son was pretty excited about using it for the backpack.

these are some of the parts and pieces before putting it all together...it was interesting to use the leather in combination with another fabric.

And since we were using the leather we wanted a way to weatherproof the fabric.  We had seen the Otter Wax before in various places and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out.

We did do a small test piece because it does darken the fabric a bit.  But it makes for a nice waterproof seal on the fabric....

The backpack is finished and completely constructed here (I just haven't done photos yet) 

 I used my ironing board which worked good as a nice flat, hard surface to work on.  There are all kinds of videos on their site for how to apply it.  You rub the bar into the fabric, and then can use a hair dryer to help soften it while working it into the fabric with your fingers

  I was able to turn it as I went and work my way around.  The waxing also creates some wrinkles and different coloration on the fabric which I really like.  It has kind of an aged worn look to it.  The waxing directions say to let it cure for at least 24 hours but ours is still feeling a little waxy.  It has been humid here too which probably affects how quickly it sets up....

Photos of the final product to come!

Leather Belt with Hand Forged Belt Buckle

This belt went to my Father-in-Law for Father's Day....

we were just a little late getting it to him....

Hit a couple of snags along the way.

My husband decided to try to blacksmith the belt buckle...

I think it turned out really cool...

I love that you can see all the hammer marks and that it has all that texture....

Then he added it to a leather belt that he finished with Tan dye and finishing wax. 

The buckle gets handstitched on with some waxed linen thread....

I think his Dad was really surprised by it and liked it alot...

Not sure if we'll offer this on Etsy or not....

But I made my husband model it anyways and for those of you who know him well you'll get a kick out of that--

Boy Mom

 This is how I know I'm a boy mom....

 I'm babysitting the baby toad I caught while mowing.

My little son LOVES all creatures....

talks to them and wants to take care of them.

He has such a tender heart....

 He set up a whole little habitat for him to jump around in including a little swimming pool and a diving board...

which oddly enough Toady seems to be enjoying...

Now my job is to babysit Toady---

To make sure the chickens don't eat him of course....

Chickens

Oh our crazy chickens....

They are getting big &

this group is pretty nutty....

 So they fit right in around here....

every evening the newer group of chicks tries to roost in our hedge...

 So while our two grown chickens go right into the coop and settle on the roosting bar; they are still bullying the smaller ones around some.

My husband goes out every evening after we put the kids to bed and gets all 9 of them down one at a time....

This innocent looking, fluffy cheeked Americana leads the pack and settles on a nice, sturdy limb by herself..

the rest of them try to follow by piling on top of each other on another branch...

which slowly sinks towards the ground. 

They are a riot to watch....

But we're hoping they outgrow they're roosting in the hedge

Stokes Strawberry Farm

The strawberries are ripe!

 Went out this evening to pick a bunch to eat and make freezer jam from...

It's like eating sunshine...

they are so good...

 Mighty had a big time picking strawberries...last year she mostly ate them...

 They were both excited to go back and actually so were my husband and I...

Tomorrow I'll be making freezer jam to stow away and enjoy all year long...