Faux Leather with a Touch of Paint

By Rachel Scarlett

Hello there,

Often while working on bigger projects, I will pause to work on a smaller, faster one to keep my creativity alive. This bigger project I'm working on is a type of floor/mat mobile for my daughter's entertainment. The creativity has already been spent and now I just have to execute those plans... Which is the hardest part about bigger projects! It also involves a bit of sewing - not something that comes naturally to me - but more practice will help with that. (Practice.... also not always in my creative patience). I like to do things once and be done; on to the next project!! But if you want to make something quality, like a baby toy, practice and patience need to be nailed down! BUT I hit pause for an afternoon and did something else. So onward to reckless imagination!

I found a new purse at the Goodwill, leather and in pretty good shape (~$1.50). It's pretty nice but I thought it needed a little keychain for some personality. So I pulled out my scraps of faux leather, rummaged in my junk drawer, and drew out some ideas. This craft is made of cutting, painting, and basically stapling.

I cut these shapes with extra long 'necks' in order to make a loop for the key ring. The bigger rectangle off to the side with cuts on one side, is the piece for the tassel.

I used an eraser to stamp circles.

And a small paint brush to paint some simple geometric shapes.

Above you can see that I used wire to create a kind of staple. I first made the holes with a large sewing needle and then used my pliers to bend the backs over once the staple was in place. If you don't have wire, a large stitch with thread would work great right there as well!

I decided to make a tassel by cutting strips along one edge of the leather then rolling the whole piece up. I secured the roll with a piece of  wire, first piercing it with the needle. This is a little tricky because you have to make sure all the layers are aligned. After the wire is through, I just wrapped it around until I was satisfied with the look, and made an extra loop at the top for the key ring.

This was a happy and simple little project. A little effort ending in great results! I bet it would look pretty cool to do these keychains in different colors of faux leather, I'm sure they sell all different kinds. 

Thanks for reading!!!