Western General Store

  I've been doing a lot of leather work lately, mainly because people ask me to make things and I try to make them. But I love working with leather and I have learned by watching videos on the internet. A friend asked me to make a pair of spur straps to give as a gift. I put the photo of the spur straps I made on social media and here I am 5 pair of spur straps later. I am by no means an expert, but I thought I could show you how I make a pair of spur straps. My neighbor, an old-time cowboy, made himself a pair of spur straps. I borrowed his for a template and put my own "stamp" on it, literally! About a 12" x 12" piece of veg-tan leather that is 7-9 ounces will be enough for this project. I trace the shape onto the leather and cut it out. The spur hole is 3/8" and the oblong holes are 1". I flip the template for the opposite foot. The strap templates are also cut out and 3/8" holes punched. A slit is cut from the 3/8" holes. A 3/4" half...

I had some cowhide scrap and decided to make a can koozie. I cut about a 15" x 8" piece. On the back, I laid down a regular koozie and drew a pattern around it. I used a ruler to make the lines straight. Since this koozie stretches, I made mine a little larger. I flipped it over and continued to draw the other half. This is what is would look like. I cut it out with leather scissors, or you could use a knife. It's ready for the can of your choice. I pulled the leather up around the can and held it with clothes pins. I put smaller clips to hold the leather in place and drew a line about a 1/4" from the can. This where I will sew with a sewing machine. Ready to sew. Sewn and ready to trim the excess. Trimmed. I turned it inside out and pulled it up on the can. It was tight and I let it sit overnight. The next day I stuck a pen in the side to stretch the leather and it worked perfectly. Next time I will make it a little larger. I found that this was not insulated enough...

This is a custom lariat basket made for a customer to give as a wedding gift. I burned the design into leather and epoxied the leather to the bottom of the basket. Three different colors of rope were used. Starting at the bottom: tan, red, green, tan, red and green at the top. Each time I changed color of rope I had to splice the two different ropes together. On one color change instead of splicing I started the next color rope with the tassel end. The basket ends at the top with a tassel. The customer wanted tan, then red for the desert, then sage. I had already thought of that. The tan for the earth below, the red for the desert, and sage for the plants above. Perfect for a desert style basket for a customer in Arizona!