8 Easy Leather DIY Christmas Gifts You Can Make NOW!

I don't know about you guys, but I love making my own Christmas presents. And I think that leather is a really great material to work with. So today I'm going to show how to make eight really easy yet really nice leather projects, which would make perfect holiday gifts. Okay, so let's get started. Eight leather DIY Christmas gifts that don't take forever to make. First up, a molded pencil case. And by creating a simple mold, you can turn veg-tanned leather into pretty much any shape you want by wetting it first and pressing it. Once dried, you have this really cool looking piece. So the second piece is for the back. And using a Sam Brown button here. Double-sided tape, and then it's easy to keep the piece in place while you sew it down. And after sewing the front and the back together and shaping the lid, you have a case. For the second project, personalized bracelets. So these are really fun, perfect for scrap leather. You can cut it to any width and then dye the leather in different colors. There are so many ways to close a bracelet. Different types of buttons, snaps, and variety can be fun if you're making several. Don't forget a loop if you have a little extra material. And then you can either add stamps, decorative stitching, a brass plate, add several layers of leather, or why not just let a neat Sam Brown button be the highlight. Either way, you have so many options here. The third project is a mouse pad. And for this, it's nice to use some thicker leather. Just using an old mouse pad as a guide for size. And of course, you don't actually need stitching around the edges, but I thought that would add a nice detail in here. It would also be fun to use a bright color for a thread if you'd like something a little bit starker. To make sure the mouse pad doesn't slide around the desk, attaching some regular drawer material. You know the kind of stuff that you put inside of drawers so things don't slide around? Anyway, it's nice and thin and grippy and perfect for this. So just attaching that with some water-based contact cement. And there you go. Kind of cool, a leather mouse pad. So the next project is a neat keychain. Again, perfect to make with scrap pieces around. I think these look really kind of high-end and interesting. It's a really simple concept. All you do is cut strips around one edge and slide on a swivel snap. Making holes through the leather for Chicago screws. And these screws are really nice since you actually attach them with a screwdriver. So it's easy to take it apart at any time to attach keys to the other end. Project number five is a Midori notebook cover. A great project to give anyone enjoying writing or sketching. It's very simple. All you do is cut a piece of leather to size. I cut it to 215 by 265 millimeters. Five holes cut in the middle of the piece. And then the elastic band gets threaded through that. Then insert a notebook and tie the string so you get a tight fit. And you can either make your own notebooks to go inside or buy pre-made ones. I use my Midori book every day and really like the simplicity of it. Okay, next up we have a heat protector handle. Perfect to keep on a cast iron pan. So using some veg tanned leather here and some 100% wool felt for the inside. And this is just to make it a little bit more snug. However, you could use just the leather if you don't have any felt. Now the suede side of the leather is used outwards because it provides a more grippy feeling. Using double-sided tape to attach the felt to the leather. And then punching and sewing the whole package together. And this is one of those really useful gifts and it's kind of cool that it's made out of leather. So the seventh project is a magnetic pencil case. I love using small neodymium magnets in projects. It creates such a cool closure. First making a basic template to get the size right. I wanted an angled opening so you could see the pencils coming through. So just thinning the leather a little bit. This will be the lid and it will have three magnets inside. And then this little strip right here will enclose magnets on the front. Just securing the magnets in the back with water-based contact cement. And it's important to make sure the magnets are aligned properly. Then just stitching all around and there's a neat little pencil case. Or eyeglass case or a case for whatever you want to store. Now the eighth and final project is a custom camera strap. Obviously you can make a strap for any type of camera. This is a cool medium format Yashica camera. Now we wanted this strap to match the other camera straps we have. So cutting this from a rather large piece of leather. However a cheaper and easier option would be to use an old belt. Because then you get a nice length. To make the strap a little bit more comfortable making a cover to go behind the neck. And it's just two pieces of leather sewed together with open sides. For the ends securing key rings which work great and attach easily on most cameras. And that's pretty much it. These straps are just so much nicer than what cameras usually come with. And I think this would make a great gift for anyone who enjoys taking photos or video with their camera. Okay, so that was the eight projects. I hope you found something that was inspiring to make. Whether for someone else or maybe for yourself. I think that leather is such a cool material. Because it is so easy to personalize. You can stamp in designs, letters, names. Of course you can, you know, alter the look of it with dye. And it's just a really kind of nice, you know, you don't need a whole lot of space. You don't need a shop. And you can find good deals often in the scrap bin at the leather store. So it's just really cool. Plus a lot of things look kind of like expensive. And you know, I've come across like really nice leather projects out in the store sometimes. And those are pretty pricey. So to make your own is just kind of fun. I want to really thank my patrons for supporting my work. As you guys know, I do this for a living full time. So it's really nice to have that support. So I can make these types of videos sometimes. And not have to worry about, you know, having a sponsor associated to it. So I really appreciate that. And if you want to become part of my Patreon family. And support the work that's being done here. Then you can check out the link in the description below. But anyway, I hope you guys are having a great holiday making season. A full of cool projects. Let me know what you think about this video in the comments below. Don't forget to share, like and subscribe. And I'll see you guys soon. Bye.