Tuesday Tutorial: Leather & Lace Belt

When I was in California a few weeks ago I got this great dress on Balboa Island. I knew I'd want a belt to go with it so I made one! It was really easy with some hot glue, lace & leather and I'm going to show you how to make your own today.

Did you know you can dye things with tea and coffee? Well, you can! One of the laces I wanted to use was too white so put it in some espresso for about 1/2 hour and then washed it with the laundry. It gave it just a slight tint and matches perfectly now!

You'll need the following for your belt (all can be purchased at a local craft store such as Hobby Lobby):
leather strip
3 pieces of lace
small piece of felt for flower
pearls
hot glue & gun
snaps & snap setter (w/ hole punch)

1. First, cut the leather to your waist size with about 1-2" of overlap.
Round one edge of your leather.

2. Also round the edge of the large lace.

3. Zig zag stitch along the edge of the lace (optional).

4. Start hot gluing the large lace to the back of the leather strip.

 

5. Don't be afraid to be generous with the glue, just don't burn your fingers like I did!

6. When you get to the end, cut off the excess.

7. Great start! So pretty!

8. Glue the end of the smaller strip to the back in the middle.

9. Glue the small strip to the front of the leather in an inconspicuous place.

10. Leave about 1" and glue it to the back of the leather.

12. (I have my pics flipped) Cut a circle of felt the size that you want the flower to be.

11. Start hot gluing the lace around, moving into the center.

13. Here's what the back looks like.

14. Taking about a foot of lace, continue around the backside, hiding the sides of the felt.

15. Just keep going!

16. Almost done!

17. Flip the flower over, put a large dollop of hot glue and add some pearls.

18. These are the snaps you'll need.

19. Punch a hole on both ends, making sure first that it fits your waist.

20. I wanted mine adjustable, so I did 2 snaps on one side.

21. 2 snaps, perfect for any outfit! It'll fit over cardi's now, even if they're heavy.

22. Another large dollop of glue...

23. And attach it to the center of the flower. I made sure my flower would overlap the second snap when closed.

24. DONE!!

necklace found here

Thanks for joining me today - what are you creating this week??