Gold-Gilded Leather Jewellery Collection

by Tamara Summers.
(Sarnia, Ontario, Canada)

I finally finished this season’s collection! It’s a little later than I would have liked it to be done (okay, it’s a lot later!), but the reason for that was because the collection kept growing and evolving.

Rose Garden Cuff Bracelet

It’s the first time, though, that I’ve ended up having such a comprehensive collection (17 pieces) that are cohesive and represent my style accurately as it stands today. So I’m very happy about that.

The starting point for this collection was a green leather jacket I owned that I realized this fall is too big for me. I could have donated it back to a thrift store, where it originally came to me from, but hey, why not make jewellery with it instead? It’s beautiful soft leather, which I found so easy to work with.

Gold-Gilded Leather Leaf Cuff Bracelet

There are more pieces to this collection but t hese may be my favourites – large 2″ wide cuff bracelets. Maybe that’s because I love making these cuffs so much! They’re also the largest, most substantial pieces. The bases are acrylic, which I’ve covered and embellished on the outside and painted gold on the inside.

One I covered with ivory lace from part of a scarf, after I had painted the base gold. I decided to try making roses with the leather, which worked really well, so I ended up making 18 of them for this collection!

I decided to go with a gilded look, so I dabbed a bit of gold paint on my roses, and embellished them with vintage gold beads and green and gold seed beads. I created a wavy little seasonal garden with them on my lacy cuff, and tucked a few tiny filigree flowers in, to add a filler flower into my garden.

The lace itself also has little vines with flowers that wind around my additions. I really love this bracelet! I’m loving the combination of lace and leather, and plan on pairing these two elements more in the future.

I covered the front of the other cuff with my leather, gilded it, then decided to embellish it with an assortment of golden leaves, which in turn I embellished with deep green crystals. I added a couple of miniature roses, but this cuff was about leaves primarily.

Although these bracelets are substantial, they’re both very lightweight.

Tamara Summers
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