Cheshire Owl Festival Belt

I love making festival belts to order, and this one is no exception. A dear friend wanted just the perfect gift for his girl, with steampunk styling and some Alice in Wonderland theme. Her nickname is So-vah, Polish for "Owl".

And so it dawned on me to design this Cheshire Owl with metal cog eyes.

It begins with a drawing.

I cut the flap from vegtan cowhide with a round knife.

I got this spiffy new Edge Groover tool for Christmas!

The image is transferred with vellum and a Scratch Awl before carving with a Swivel Knife.

Beveling Stamp and Modeling Spoon bring out the third dimension after carving.

The Stamping complete

Details in the feathers and woodgrain are drawn in with the Swivel Knife.

I laid in color using EcoFlo acrylic waterstains, and masked the smile and underbelly with SuperSheen.

*Here's how it looks after Gel Antique black was applied and buffed out. *

I made it into a pouch, and also created a personalized belt.

*Front, with copper buckle and keeper imported from Switzerland. *

Back, displaying her nickname, So-Vah.

The belt is made with a natural vegtan cowhide inner. I applied sections of fancy mulberry-colored leather and tooled/dyed cowhide for the outer. It is all bonded, and then handstitched with waxed thread using the double needle method.

Scraps of leather and bits of metal

Alphabet sets

This Pro-tool diamond stamp is another delightful Christmas gift!

Sides complete. Back awaits its dye job and lamination to the inner backing.

Back section glued and clamped.

The final stitches

My favorite part of the process is getting feedback like this: "She loves it! Thank you for making the perfect gift."

Creation. Care. Making things that make people feel good. I live for this!

Love,Cat
Hive account@creationofcare

Here is a previous festival belt post!
https://steemit.com/art/@creationofcare/a-festival-belt-for-lady-frog