Stamping a Leather Necklace

I'm so excited about the Brave event in Pasadena tomorrow.  Initially I was working on a pouch making demo.  Then late last night I saw a leather SCA site favor sitting on my keyboard, and I thought, 'Wouldn't the kids much rather make a simple leather necklace to take home?"  So I carved 3 stamps to stamp on some leather squares.  Then as I had my little stack of squares, my cat stepped on one, and I thought, "Oh, a cat paw print stamp would be neat."  Since 3 stamps fit on each eraser, I did the cat's paw, and two more designs. So the kids will have 6 to choose from: a bow and arrow, an arrowhead, a lightning bolt, a cat's paw, a star, and a moon.

I'll roll out practice paper on the table. Each kid can stamp their own leather square and then I can help them string it and add 2 beads.  This should work.  I just don't know if we'll get 10 kids or 200.  But the kids that don't get to shoot a bow can at least have a memento to take home from the event.

Making Quivers by Fayme Harper

Saturday and Sunday we had a fellow over learning to make arrows. He's so happy about his new archery skills. He wants to make a leather quiver next. I was discussing different kinds of quivers with my boyfriend. He's made some great ones. I said leather is heavy and if you are doing archery on a roving course, every little ounce adds up as you are climbing over hill and dale with your bow, arrows, quiver, bracer, water bottle, and other gear.

Some light weight alternatives for quivers include yucca, basket, bamboo and canvas quivers. You have to decide if you want a back quiver or a side quiver. I find side quivers much easier because they fasten on with a belt and you don't have to lift them over your head and shoulders. Also you don't sweat as much as you do with leather strapped to your back. Just remember there are a lot of alternatives. And I know leather fringe on a quiver is very popular. But leather fringe is heavy. You can add plenty of other embellishments in lieu of leather fringe, like hanging beads, coins or talismans.


Yucca Quiver


Mini Quiver


Side quiver


Leather quiver

Also, if you've never looked down inside a quiver, most of them have some padding in the bottom to protect the arrows from hitting the bottom. That can be foam, fur, or stuffing of some type. It keeps the arrows from rattling around too.


Canvas Quiver