Simple leather (or pleather) crafts

Yesterday at uni we had a whole day of learning different finishes and crafts with leather. We learned some pretty cool effects and tricks are were easy and really fun to do. So I immediately hit pinterest to find a way of sharing these techniques with you guys. Of course you can use pleather or some other kind of material to make these too.

1. Magic braiding

This was one of my favorite techniques I learned yesterday but I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain it to you. Melissa Esplin describes it perfectly in her Magic Braided Leather tutorial. Don't forget to check out Melissa's other posts too, she has a flair for craft and design and updates her blog with great tutorials regularly.

2. The Five Stranded Braid

I didn't learn this technique yesterday, but it's on my list of things to try. I love this effect because it looks strong and decorative at the same time. Design and Form shares a brilliant step by step tutorial on how to achieve this beautiful effect.

3. Leather Wrapped Bracelet

This Leather Wrapped Bracelet tutorial by Lebenslustiger looks a little harder than the others but totally worth it. For anyone wanting Faux leather cord for this, Nature Beads on Etsy has a nice selection.

4. DIY Leather tassels

FACT: Tassels are awesome. They're super simple to do and very effective. You can use them to spruce up presents, stick to shoes and bags, make keyrings and jewellery with. Miss Renaissance.com/ proves just how awesome they can look with her DIY Leather Tassels. Her use of colour and detail makes these tassels look extra special and makes great inspiration for creating your own.

Advertise on PonyChops in September

I can't believe it's almost September already! Summer seems to be flying by far too quickly for my liking. August has been a fantastic month for PonyChops, and I hope September will be just as successful. I have some tutorial and DIY plans for late September/early October. I'm also going to be documenting my move to London and start of my Shoe Design course at London College of Fashion.


If you'd like to host a giveaway on PonyChops or send me a product to review email me at ponychopsshop@gmail.com

If you need any help with your advert design pop me an email and I'll see what I can do to help.

Here are my stats:

25000+ pageviews this month
15000+ Tumblr followers
10000+ followers on other social media

Parents & the City - Blog Design

Well guys, It's finally here! The design of Parents & the City is finished and live. This blog design has taught me so much. Mainly that I need to try out wordpress before designing the blog, oops! But it's been one of the most fun projects I've done in a long time.

Since I'm passionate about bright and colourful patterns, I was stoked when Diana gave me free reign to design a New York and baby themed pattern! I was even more excited when she wanted to have a statue of liberty themed logo. Baby Liberty is definitely one of my fav things about this design.

You can find my work in progress on this design here, here and here.

If you would to contact me about blog, logo or pattern design email me at ponychopsshop @ gmail . com

Here's some more details of the new design:

Etsy Shop Crush: Caked Designs

I've been a fan of Jessa's blog Caked Vintage for a long time now. She's so creative, I knew it wouldn't be long until she had her own business doing something artsy!

A couple of weeks ago Jessa opened her own Etsy Shop: Caked Designs, where she sells beautiful premade blog templates.

It's great to see such pretty and affordable designs out there for people like me who know very little about blog design and html!

[Etsy] [Blog] [Twitter]

 

September Sponsors - Part 2

Here are some more of my lovely sponsors! Please go and check their blogs, they're all very talented and interesting people.

 [Etsy] [Blog] [Facebook]

Hi, I'm Midge! I am an artist and designer for my feminist centered etsy shop, Modern girl Blitz, as well as a zinester, crafter and over all DIY enthusiast. And I like to collect fake glasses. I wear many hats, so check me out on the interwebs if you have any hats in common with me!

 

[Blog] [Etsy] 

I am a family loving, fashion fanatic, art-obsessed, goofy geek who spends her time blogging on Kitty Snooks. Kitty Snooks is a blog about the things that fascinate me in life, my art, and other miscellaneous thoughts that I decide to share. I hope you'll find some inspiration or at least a laugh or two whilst visiting my blog!

 

 [Blog] [Shop] [Twitter]

Well hello there. To be grammatically correct, as I generally am, I'm Em. But I prefer it with a lower case 'e'. I describe myself as being quite possibly a dinosaur made up of several cupcakes taped together, painted blue, & sprinkled with glitter. Bitch.  

I am a baker, a crafter, an iPhone-Photographer. An occassional jewellery maker, plastic dinosaur collector & Blogger.

 [Blog] [Twitter] [Instagram]

Nice to meet you. I am a collector of vintage, floral, cameras, and knickknacks. I am a beginner in the world of sewing and crafts. I hope to sell handmade odds and ends in my very own shop one day. Most of the time, I can be found with Dominick, who is my best friend, love dove, and side kick.

 

[Blog] [Twitter] [Etsy] 

I am a vintage shop owner, blogger, photography enthusiast, and self taught graphic designer living in California below the beautiful Yosemite Valley.  I am a bit of a wildflower with a passion for discovery and a love of adventure no matter how big or how small.   I grew up on a thousand acre ranch I have lovingly titled The Thousand Acre Woods.  I still reside there with my family, my husband Christopher Robin, and our two dogs and three cats.  My blog follows me as I navigate through this wonderful journey as a business owner, writer, and designer.

September Sponsors - Part 1

I'd like to introduce you all to my lovely sponsors! I highly recommend you give these blogs and visit and show them some love!

 [Blog] [Pinterest] [Twitter]

Hi! I'm Melanie from My Billie--a lifestyle and design blog. Over there we focus on keeping things positive and creative! You'll find posts on crafting and fashion DIYs, design tutorials and peaks into my everyday life. My blog also houses my design services--My Billie Designs. I hope you'll stop by and say hello : )

[Blog] [Shop] [Twitter]

Oh, hai lovelies! My name is Emily. I'm a 26-year-old tattoo collector, vegetarian, and pet mama to a fluffball of a cat named Buddha, and a "summer sausage" of a dog named Calla Lily. I adore pretty photos, handmade goods, and vintage/thrift shopping. In my free time, I run a small vintage shop on Etsy and a lil' lifestyle blog called Tea Tree, where I blog about living in the northwoods of Michigan and everything I love and believe in. Oh, I do hope you'll stop by! 

[Blog] [Shop] [Facebook]

Hi!  We're Judd + Jessa, a photographer and an artist who fell madly in love and share our lives with 2 doggies and a pretty kitty. Check out our adventures, DIYs, vegetarian recipes, favorite handmade goods, old bikes and more over at Pearl + Earl's Good-time Vintage Blog. We love making new friends!  And if you love vintage clothes, scope out our finds over at J2 Vintage on Etsy.  It's so nice to meet you!  xox

[Blog] [Shop] [Instagram]

Hello Darlings, I'm Autumn Bee, blogger from The Busy Bee and shop owner of Gypsybeee Vintage! I'm a wife, vintage hoarder, home maker, amateur chef, and stay at home mommy to two littles. On my blog you can find all things vintage (mostly focusing on mid century goodness), recipes, DIY projects, and all kids of other random things that inspire me. Come on over and say hello!

[Blog] [Facebook] [Flickr]

HELLO!  My name is Jessie and my blog is My Mod Style.  I use my blog to showcase my love for design, life and nature. I love inspiring people to live better everyday lives. Enjoy the simple things and make the best out of every moment. I take lots of pictures and share many of them on my blog.
I eat plants, not animals. (I'm Vegan!)  I am passionate about the environment and enjoy spreading awareness through my blog!  Please stop by and say hello!

[Blog] [Etsy]

Hello! My name is Crystal & I blog over at Billie Jean. I have recently made the transition over from "lifestyle" blog to "fashion" blog! I post pictures of my outfits & sometimes my little one, Tory, will join in on the fun too! I have a business degree & a background in fashion & although I am a stay at home mommy right now, I will soon be out in the real world again, hopefully starting a career in the fashion industry! Besides my blog, I also own a jewelry shop on Etsy called, Billie Jean Jewels! I'd love for you guys so stop by my blog & say hello! I love hearing from new readers!!

 

 [Blog] [Shop] [Facebook]

Hi, I'm Sammy and I have a mass of curly hair :)

I am currently starting a new chapter of my life as a fashion and textiles student on the hills of Wiltshire, England. I am living with my soon to be husband, Ben where I am starting to get to grips with student life. I am originally from a sleepy seaside town in Somerset where I was living in my little comfort zone but decided I wanted to get my butt in gear and start my dream of getting in the textile industry. I blog over at The Cookie Button where you will usually find me rambling on about my day to day life and pursuing my hobby - crafting.

[Blog] [Twitter]

I'm Alex and this is my frenchie pal Arthur, he's my most favourite thing in the world.  I want to share his cuteness with you as well as other cool things I find along the way.  I'm currently working on reopening my etsy store and translating the Marvelous Mail Livejournal community over to the blog world.  I love music, cooking, crafting and cartoons.  Arthur loves sleeping, Frisbees, walks to the park, and tuna.

 

[Blog] [StoreEnvy] [Portfolio]

My name is Lexie, and I run a little blog called Blue Wonderful. I'm an artist and crafter, and I like talking about art, style, photos and life. I also sell some of my art, along with handmade clutches and wallets, on Storenvy. Come and visit me, and be prepared for my extra shot of excitement because it's Fall, my favorite season! 

 

New Blog Layout!

Has anyone noticed my new blog layout? I'm completely crazy about it and can't stop showing it to my friends.

I've known for a while that my blog needed a good spruce up, and fully intended on researching how the hell to do that (when I got round to it, in about 5 years). Then, a couple of months a go, I discovered Chloe at Lazy Explorers was hosting a give away to get a new blog make over by My Billie Designs. I entered thinking nothing would come of it, because I basically never win anything.

A week later I received an email from Melanie at My Billie Designs saying I'd won her give away. I was so happy! Melanie has been fantastic, she's done every detail specifically how I'd wanted it, and I think my blog looks brilliant. It's like she jumped in my brain & somehow made sense of all the jumbled up ideas I had.

I completely recommend you checking out Melanie's design work. Her prices are really reasonable, especially for the amount of time she must spend making everything.