Valentines Day Leather Craft Project

Creating a handmade Valentine Day gift exhibits how much more thought was put forth into that certain someone in your life this Valentine Day holiday when it comes custom created from your hands as well as from your heart. This unique Valentine Day gift will be something that will be a daily reminder as to how much some care about the loved one in your life and will be around after many other Valentine Day holidays come to pass. Some of the materials listed here within creates more than one Valentine Day leather key fob due to the nature of the leather-craft retailers named and their prerequisites of your purchase(s). This will also allow you to give more than one person in your life a small token of your love and affection.

Tools Need For Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

As foreword before starting on what few basic tools needed to create your Valentine Day leather key fob project you should first take safety precautions in any crafting work, do-it-yourself and or home improvement project. Safety glasses are always one of the first highly recommended safety measures your should consider The second would be affording yourself an ample amount of work-space, be it on the kitchen table or as I would highly recommend, a study work-bench in a well lighted environment. The few basic tools needed for your Valentine Day leather key fob project is as follow:

1) Mallet - $4.99
1) Mini Punch Set (Sizes 0 through 5 (5/64", 3/32", 1/8", 9/64", 5/32" and 11/64") - $14.99
1) 3/16" Easy-To-Do Eyelets & Setter Kit - $9.99

All these tools can be purchased at the Tandy Leather Factory.

Materials Needed For Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

Some of the materials needed for conducting this Valentine Day leather key fob craft project can be easily found around the home, starting with a kitchen cutting board if you do not already posses a Protecto Board from Tandy Leather Factory as to protect whatever sturdy work surface in which your are working from. This kitchen cutting board or Protecto Board will also protect your Mini Punch Set from excessive wear for future use in other leather-craft projects. You also will need an old bowl or dish with some warm water in it, a small sponge, a few work-rags that you may later tear-into smaller, more manageable sections for the leather dye application onto your Valentine Day leather key fob project. Some of the other materials you will need to seek-out elsewhere and are listed as follow:

1) 25 Pack - 2 1/2 in x 2 5/8 in. Leather Die-Cut Hearts - $29.99 - www.eleathersupply.com
1) 10 Pack - 1 1/4 in Nickle Plated Split Key-Rings - $1.99 (optional choice #1)
1) 100 Pack - Nickle Plated Beaded Key Chains - $14.99 (optional choice #2)
1) *Red Leather Dye (starting at $3.99 for 4 onces)

*Your Valentine Day leather key fob color and the type of dye used is arbitrary, and a life-style choice. I prefer using Fiebing's Leather Dye which is a ORM-D item, and must be shipped by ground as well as not being available in California. Tandy Leather Factory also offers a product for those "Going Green" and prefer a more environmentally friendly product called Eco-Flo Cova Color, which is a water based leather dye with a low V.O.C. The wonderful part of using the Eco-Flo Cova Colors is that they are opaque when applied at full strength, but may be thinned with water to reduce the shade and intensity of said color. In the case of the Red Fiebing's Leather Dye is that it results in a more crimson shade as opposed to the traditional red as seen on the color wheel spectrum.

The First Steps In Creating Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

The last final steps in the creation of your Valentine Day leather key-fob project are easy and can be completed just as soon as your dyed leather heart shape has set over-night to dry fully. If no further dyeing is necessary and desired dye shade achieved you may then take your brass finished or nickle plated bead-chain and thread it through the 3/16 eyelet and snap the closure shut. Should you have chosen the brass finish or nickle plated 1 1/4 inch split key-ring, take a small flat screwdriver and pry the split apart and then slowly feed it through and around the 3/16 eyelet and continue to feed it through until both separated ends meet and shut flush once feed completely through the 3/18 eyelet. You may use any type of basic leather protectant and or conditioner as to preserve your project for that loved on for many years to come.

Now that you have all the tools and materials in your possession to start creating this Valentine Day leather key-fob project you will first need one of your 2 1/2 in x 2 5/8 in. die-cut leather heart's, the dish or bowl with some warm water in it, and a small sponge or rag. Leather is very pliable for the most part however it always recommend to "case" the leather before any cutting of leather, punching holes in leather and dying leather. Why you may ask? Because it makes it easier, simple as that. For dying leather it allows a better absorption of the leather dye.

Casing The Leather On Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

Daub your sponge or small section of rag into the warm water enough to saturate it through and start to apply it to the center of the 2 1/2 in x 2 5/8 in. die-cut leather heart working it outwards toward you as you slowly turn the leather heart until evenly moistened.

Dyeing The Leather On Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

Regardless of brand, color or shade of dye that you might choose for your leather-craft project the art of receiving desirable results will come with allot of practice for an acquired-touch. However that is not to say you will botch this dyeing endeavor up, just do not be mislead thinking that if the bottle reads "Buckskin," it will replicate the shade of buckskin; too much buckskin may turn out to be tan, use too much tan and you now have light brown, apply too much light brown and you have a dark brown. You get the picture now. Applying leather dye is by the same means of using the water to case the leather. In fact casing leather is a great way as to get a feel as to how dye reacts to leather and how it will take-to your leather-craft project. The more water used, the darker the shade and deeper the penetration of said dye shade chosen. Your best results are achieved by using a little and work your way-up by applying more until said shade is desired. Allow overnight for full and complete drying before proceeding to any following steps.

Punching The Hole On Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

As to where you should punch the hole in your Valentine Day leather key-fob is by choice, however the most practicable place would be at the center of the one heart "lobes" about 1/4 inch away from the edge by using your the 11/64 hole punch from your set. Make sure that your leather is centered over your Protecto-Board, place your hole-punch at designated spot and use your mallet to strike the hole-punch dead-center and hard enough to penetrate the leather heart. If you do not succeed at doing so the first time, strike the hole-punch end dead center hard enough to complete the hole. Place your 3/16 eyelet into the hole, place eyelet over the eyelet-setters anvil and strike hard enough to conform the eyelet into the internal receiving concave of the anvil but not so hard as to mash the eyelet out of proportion. Some additional casing maybe necessary before punching the hole as to condition and soften the leather heart shape.

The Finishing Touches On Your Valentine Day Leather Key-Fob

The last final steps in the creation of your Valentine Day leather key-fob project are easy and can be completed just as soon as your dyed leather heart shape has set over-night to dry fully. If no further dyeing is necessary and desired dye shade achieved you may then take your brass finished or nickle plated bead-chain and thread it through the 3/16 eyelet and snap the closure shut. Should you have chosen the brass finish or nickle plated 1 1/4 inch split key-ring, take a small flat screwdriver and pry the split apart and then slowly feed it through and around the 3/16 eyelet and continue to feed it through until both separated ends meet and shut flush once feed completely through the 3/18 eyelet. You may use any type of basic leather protectant and or conditioner as to preserve your project for that loved on for many years to come.

TIP: You may punch two holes directly across from one another and run a stick of your own design through it and create a hair barrette.

Sources: Ray Anthony
Raymond J. Johnson
Tandy Leather Factory