Finding time for LPDstudios is not always easy in the summer months. Having the girls home from school means a new schedule of driving to summer jobs, camps and sports. But I still managed to create new products, attend events and have fun doing it all!

Here are a few of my favorite LPDstudios summer moments! 

Farmers Market on Chocolate in Hershey, PA:

What a fun event! The community comes together to celebrate all things local; food, arts, music, yoga. This was my first Farmers Market experience, and it was so exciting to have a large booth just for LPDstudios. I invested in a pop up tent, custom banner and some unique shelving to create a welcoming and homey place for people to shop. 

It's a great way to spend a Saturday morning, and if you didn't make it this year, I highly recommend it for next year.

Craft on Tap:

This was a workshop led by LPDstudios where students learned the basic skills of working in leather, from cutting, punching, stamping and painting, all while enjoying a complimentary craft beer from Wacker Brewing Company. 

This was definitely a first for me! Teaching how to make jewelry pieces is an entirely different skill set than creating work in the studio. With a small class of students with varying skill levels, I was able to learn a lot about how to lead a class. I really enjoyed the experience, and I think my students did too. Look out for my next teaching adventure coming in October.

Here are a few action shots from the class!

Horizon of Hope Breast Cancer Fundraiser:

LPDstudios was able to participate in the Horizon of Hope Breast Cancer Fundraiser this year! 

Through the event, Horizon of Hope was able to earn money for local organizations like the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, American Cancer Society Patient Services, and the MS Hershey Breast Center's Karen Dwyer-Jones Fund. 

We donated the Pearled Navy Blue Handsewn Leather Night Out Tote with Star to be raffled off at the event. It's always so awesome to see LPDstudios originals find a good home, especially for a worthy cause. LPDstudios also had a vendor table at the event with several new designs. The new pieces were designed specifically for the attendees of the event, which were predominantly women who are breast cancer survivors and people who are close to someone who has survived.

Summer was jammed packed and I am ready for a fresh season with new LPDstudios adventures around every corner.

Don't forget to stop by LPDstudios to see what is new in the studio :)

I was thrilled to receive this custom order from a customer who loved the LPDstudios Leather Pet Collar with Heart Design so much that she wanted a belt made from the same design! 

To make a belt version, I started with a much longer piece of leather and cut according to the belt dimensions my customer requested. This takes a steady hand and a lot of muscle to ensure I make a clean cut through the leather. A little while back I had a custom heart shaped punch made for me, which came in handy for this project. I was able to quickly punch out the leather hearts and know they would all be uniform in shape and size.

Next comes the fun part, the color!! My customer wanted a slightly brighter red than the red I use on the dog collars, so I put together a custom pigment to dye the leather.

Once the dye has saturated the leather, typically after several coats, I am able to distress and soften the leather using my brass roller. Then I add a cream to my leather and buff it, this adds a bit of shine .

Now that the leather is where I want it for color and texture, I affix the hearts to the belt using hand cut brass rivets.

Last but not least, I add the brass hardware, that coordinates nicely back to the rivets, and add my signature LPDstudios label.

Now the custom distressed antique red leather belt with hearts, brass rivets and buckle is ready to be worn for many, many years!!!!!

Thank you to all of my customers for supporting LPDstudios, and keep visiting me to see what is new in the studio!!

Even though Summer isn't officially over yet.... I can feel things starting to shift. The nights are getting a little cooler, the kids are getting ready to go back to school, and I'm gravitating toward a more earthy palette in my studio. I'm setting aside the bright leathers I've gathered over the past couple of summer months and starting to look for leather hides in green, gold and orange. 

I found this really nice olive green "pull up" leather that I just had to buy. Pull up leather is really unique because the leather is colored with aniline dyes that have been blended with natural based oils and waxes instead of the typical painted pigments. The oils and waxes tend to darken the original aniline dye coloration, while also pulling up the lighter colors when stretched and pulled. So this particular olive green leather has a lot of definition and dimension to the hide.

Once I bought this batch of olive green leather, I decided to make a Hand Sewn Olive Green Armadillo Envelope Clutch. I applied an armadillo cut out to give the clutch a conversational focal point, and added my signature pinked edges and contrast stitching. 

For today's style board I paired the whimsical little armadillo clutch with a linen jumpsuit in a beautiful shade of sienna orange, and comfortable chocolate suede slip ons. Even though the palette of this outfit is saying fall, I still want sleeveless tops and sandals for as long as possible.

Come visit LPDstudios for more handcrafted designs and my LPDstudios Style Pinterest Board to learn more about the other beautiful pieces on today's style board.

Horizon of Hope Hershey is a local organization whose mission is to "educate people on the importance of early detection by bringing attention and awareness to self-breast exams, mammograms, and the benefits of exercise and diet for a healthier body to ward off cancer."

Each year, the Horizon of Hope committee organizes a breakfast fundraiser held at the Hershey Hotel, which is happening this Saturday morning 8/19. All proceeds of the event are donated to local organizations like the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, American Cancer Society Patient Services, and the MS Hershey Breast Center's Karen Dwyer-Jones Fund. The HOH invites special guest speakers, including breast cancer survivors and reps from the ACA. Along with the inspirational speakers, they have door prizes, artist vendors, lots of raffles and a canned food drive for our local food pantry. 

I am excited to be able to give to the cause this year! LPDstudios has donated the Pearled Navy Blue Handsewn Leather Night Out Tote with Star to be raffled off at the event!

LPDstudios will also have a vendor table at the event with several new designs. The new pieces were designed specifically for the attendees of this event, which are predominantly women who are breast cancer survivors and people who are close to someone who has survived.

I will have new Cancer Free Birthday Necklaces with Inspirational Charms at my table:

Sets of Hope Herb Markers:

And Pink Hope Bracelets that are a new twist on my Three of Hearts Vintage Leather Bangle with Hand Cut Rivets.

To make them special for Horizon of Hope, I chose to add silver plated inspirational quotes that are fastened to the leather using silver beaded wire. Here is a little peak into how I created the design!

I am excited to be a part of this inspiring event and contribute to such a worthy cause.