New Life x 2 for Old Leather Jacket

Here is the gourd you can win by entering the Giveaway! This is a miniature gourd bowl. It was carved from an ornamental gourd and stained with leather dye.

I carved away part of the outer shell, leaving some in the shape of the symbol for infinity. The symbol and the two half circles on the bottom are left with the natural shell resulting in them being somewhat raised off of the surface.

Thousands of stippled dots make up the design around the gourd and down the sides of the lighter area. Dots also highlight the main symbol. These dots were done with my woodburner.

The inside is painted with acrylics and the entire gourd has several coats of varnish. It stands 1.75" tall (4.4cm) It is 2.25" wide (5.7cm).
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This jacket on the left, is what I am making into two dog jackets and 8 boots. :)

As many of you know, my dogs are Miniature Dachshunds. So any clothing they wear has to be longer than usual. Lately, their little feet can't handle the cold here either, it has been -20 to -35 degrees (windchills) and either just above zero or just below for our daily highs. So boots are definitely in order too!

I was going to get rid of this jacket the other day and noticed that the sleeves are the perfect size for my little dogs and I can make boots out of other parts as well!

Here is a picture of Sam being fitted for his. Sam is the larger of the two, so his jacket needs to be expanded a bit. Buddy should fit right into his without the need for a yoke, but just in case, I'm prepared to put one in for him too.

I cut a yoke from the jacket under the arm. I had to rip the seam on the sleeve and partially around the cuff. The cuff is going to be left on as it makes a nice collar. I'll be sewing the yoke to the cuff and creating the "arm" holes as I go. These little jackets will not have sleeves. At least, I'm pretty sure I will not be putting any in. Their little legs are short and when they have the boots on, there really wont be a need for sleeves. :)

I hope to have more pics to show tomorrow. This is a fun recycling project! I'm glad I was able to find good use for this old jacket.

Any thoughts on this?

Until later....Have a great day!