DIY Sleigh Bells

Thanks to my friend Grace I’ve had a (very) small foray into the world of leather work.
Grace makes gorgeous leather bags, wallets, keychains, and patches, and she’s showed me how to use some other the basic tools of the trade. Every leather project we’ve made together has completely wowed me and left me feeling full of possibility.

Leather. Whoa. 

Leather crafts seem to strike that special place between seemingly inaccessible and surprisingly approachable. It doesn’t seem like you can do it, but you CAN. And that’s my favorite kind of DIY project.

Earlier this month while enjoying one of my favorite pastimes— online window shopping— I spotted a leather strap of sleigh bells from Anthropologie. My inner child gasped and I was immediately enchanted. Upon closer inspection I realized it would be pretty easy to dupe, and a fun leather craft to challenge. Also, it would be quite a bit less expensive than buying the original project, which is always a plus.

Soon after this, while at my local Michael’s, I happened to spot an area of leather and leather tools— all three of the materials I needed were right there next to each other and it seemed too much like kismet to pass up.

So, here we are! The whole project took about a half hour to put together.

Here’s the specific materials I used:

Materials Notes:

• The tops of the jingle bells need to be wide enough for the leather lace to be threaded through.
• More jingle bells can be used for a longer strap of sleigh bells.
• For sustainable options, look for suppliers of recycled leather in your area, or vegan leather materials.
  

How To Make DIY Christmas Sleigh Bells:

The construction of this project was very simple:
I made holes with the leather punch on the leather strap, threaded the leather lace through the jingle bells, then threaded the lace through the holes in the strap. Last, I tied a double knot with the lace on the back of the strap to secure the jingle bells.

Boop!

I really couldn’t be happier with this project. It was one of those things that turned out just like I hoped it would (which is so very rare.) I’ve got it on the inside of my front door so that every time the door opens there’s a lovely festive tinkling sound. Santa, is that you? 

Show me more Christmas/ Holiday stuff