FINALLY I actually made something (baby steps style)

[oceanblue]

Australian kangaroo leather and CMW pearls….

View attachment 878226 View attachment 878226

 

[Snowdrop13]

Very cool!

 

[Pearlescence]

Good job!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

They look awsome !
Well done !

More details?

 

[yssie]

Australian kangaroo leather!? Never even heard of it! Is it different from cow leather?

 

[MMtwo]

awesome, looks cool with your hoodie too!

 

[SparklieBug]

@oceanblue What size were the pearls drilled to accommodate the leather? I've made some inexpensive (aka not great quality) pearl bracelets with "finished" or smooth leather.

 

[oceanblue]

Y'all this is my college age son wearing the pearl creation! He actually wore it on the roadtrip back to college after spring break. I noticed youngish men around here wearing pearls (though not black Tahitian) and apparently they are truly in style. I only hope it does not fall apart and cause embarrassment as it is my very first finished pearl product.

I choose kangaroo leather as it is apparently much stronger than cow leather. A PS preferred vendors uses it for their Mano pearl line. I took a peek at the other pearl chat site and someone recommended leatheroolace on etsy. He was very nice and helpful and I purchased 1mm and 1.4 mm leather lace cord.

I then purchased a set of necklace pearls from CMW pearls on etsy, one of the less expensive strands and had the holes drilled to 2 mm. As some of them were bottle shaped I had to use a file (I used a nail file) to smooth out the holes.

After watching a couple of YouTube videos I assembled the necklace. I put a knot every fifth pearl.

I hope he brings it home for Easter so I can inspect it and maybe upgrade the clasp.

 

[CMN]

Australian kangaroo leather!? Never even heard of it! Is it different from cow leather?

Made from hide of kangaroo, an Australian native marsupial.

 

[yssie]

CMN I legit giggled out loud

Interesting that kangaroo leather is stronger. I’m really curious how your necklace holds up to wear, please share what you think when he brings it home!

 

[adlgel]

I was shocked many years ago when shopping for soccer shoes for my son to find that the good ones were made of kangaroo leather. I was like "not real kangaroo leather right?" and the sale guy confirmed that it was in fact real kangaroo leather.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

It looks so cool!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I don't think kanga is endangered
I've had the meat - it was delicouse
Although when i brought Borris and Fluffy some kangaroo tinned food from the vet they turned up their noses


We do things with bush tail blossoms here
loved and protected at home in 'Oz but munching through hundreds of thousands of acres of native bush here and spreading TB
Our climate gives their fur more thickness than in their true home but we then don't have the heat to kill the TB

for many years the green MP in parliament sat on a possom fur seat cover because it trully is seen as an environmentally friendly fur here
It is also mixed with wool to make a lovelly soft yarn
i know its sad for the possom - but unless someone can think of a way to relocate millions of them back across the ditch there is not a nice alternative

They have a pretty good life, its not like mink or other little furry animals kept in sheds overseas
these guys are free range bird eatters and rose bud wreckers


Anyway just my thoughts

 

[katbran]

Kangaroos are not endangered. Australia has about 25million people...the vast majority in larger cities along the coast. There are approx 50million Kangaroos ..so they are doing pretty well here

 

[bright&shiny]

Its a lovely necklace and I'm eager to hear how it's held up! I'm curious, is the Baby Steps in reference to Ramsey or something else?

 

[oceanblue]

Y'all the pearl creation came home this weekend. It did good! Apparently it received positive attention from the other co-eds. And held up well.

According to the teenager wearing the creation the rustic leather around a pearl clasp became inoperable and I had to cut it off. It was worn 24/7 for at least 3 weeks.

The leather did stretch quite a bit, most likely because it became a fidget for the wearer.



I took two pearls off (to shorten due to the stretching) and added a clasp. The clasp is rather heavy but it is all I had and the boy seemed pleased with it.



He left to return to college wearing this look.




The pearls looked great and the kangaroo leather seemed to be as strong as ever. The stretching is a concern but the creation endured a lot of wear and tear.

 

[oceanblue]

Its a lovely necklace and I'm eager to hear how it's held up! I'm curious, is the Baby Steps in reference to Ramsey or something else?

I had to look up Ramsey but yes the kangaroo leather creation is a baby step towards actually knotting pearls using thread. I sort of abandoned the knotting after buying lots of pearls and half the needed supplies.

If you have any advice let me know

 

[bright&shiny]

@oceanblue - I'll be watching with interest. Years ago I learned to string beads and pearls, but its been a LONG time. Now I have someone do it who knows better than I

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I had to look up Ramsey but yes the kangaroo leather creation is a baby step towards actually knotting pearls using thread. I sort of abandoned the knotting after buying lots of pearls and half the needed supplies.

If you have any advice let me know

@oceanblue how is the knotting going ?