Making a leather lens hood cover and strap

Couldn't find a leather cover to protect the Nikon P1000,

Especially the lens hood from being scratched with all the outdoor photography.

So i made one.

This is a cover i managed to find for the 150-600 lens

But it attracts too much attention especially when you are on a hike

(And i don't like people commenting 😀)

I have a rain cover for photography in the rain

But for regular use, when you keep placing the camera down outdoors,

The lens hood can get scratched.

This leather cover i'm making is kind of permanent

And i have no reason to remove it

 I also want to cover the yellow on the strap.

It attracts too much attention and the birds surely don't care what brand of camera i use 😉

 

Here's the final product

 

Painting Wild Horses in Montana

 Had some extra leather so decided to paint wild horses on them.

This is a scene of wild horses we saw in Montana somewhere near Saint Mary Lake 

Wild Horses in Montana

14"x10.5" oil painting on leather

 

Working with Leather

 Making a few leather belts

This one is for a friend who asked for one

 

 

Of all the leather stamps I have, she wanted the cross

(No, she's not a 'Christian', but she's experienced the power of the cross)

 

 

 

 

 And this belt is for me, or for anyone who wants it

 

Stretching a Leather Hat

Haven't been using this leather hat lately, so it has shrunk over time, and it won't fit me now.

(No I didn't make this hat)

With the weather changing, I thought it would be better to stretch this old faithful hat,

 than to get a new one.

So here is what I did.

I found a flexible plastic mixing bowl that would fit my head ☺

(like the ones used to mix dough for cookies and muffins).

Soaked the hat in boiling hot water, and stretched it to fit over the bowl,

and also filled the bowl with hot water

Made sure the hat was well stretched around the edges, then emptied the bowl

Hung it out to dry in the beautiful May sunshine!

The hat must be dried with the bowl still in it

Now I can use my 21 year old leather hat again

 

Have a great long weekend!

Out there in those days, I couldn't find a jacket I liked, so I made my own ...

This is one of three leather jackets I've made so far ... (my friend who lives in the jungle owns one of them)

Notice the imperfect lines of the stitches on the inside ☺

That's what happens when it's completely handmade ...

I used a needle (like the one cobblers use to repair shoes), some tough thread ...

                                                                     ...  And a lot of patience!