This Instructable is about how to make a Leaf of Lórien brooch out of leather.

Supplies

Supplies:

Vegetable tanned leather
Spool of wire
Acrylic paints; Metallic green and silver

I also printed out a pattern online to get the basic shape right.

Tools:

Leather knife
Soldering iron (or regular leather carving tools)
Other leatherworking tools; bevel, burnisher, etc.
Wire cutters
Super glue/wood glue

Step 1: Cut Out the Basic Shape

I started out with just a small scrap of veggie-tanned leather. I also printed out a pattern online of a basic Lothlórien leaf shape. The nice part about doing it this way is that you can adjust the it to any size. I made mine rather large, about 4.5 inches. I then traced the pattern onto the leather scrap and cut it out with a rotary cutter leather knife.

Step 2: Veins

Placing the pattern back onto the cutout, I traced the leaf's veins with a sharp pencil. This creates an indent in the leather underneath, and can then be drawn onto the leather. For this next step I used a soldering iron to carve the veins, but a regular leather carving tool would work just as well.

Step 3: Shaping and Painting

On a flat surface, spray the leather with water from a spray bottle. I have found that this method is way easier than actually soaking the leather, because it will hold the shape you want right away. For these leaves, slightly curve the edges of the three points backwards to give it some depth. Let dry completely.

When the leather is dry, paint the entire thing metallic green. You might have to add a few layers of this to get that nice metallic shimmer. When the green coat is dry, use a small brush to fill the indented veins with silver.

Step 4: Wiring

The wires around the leaf consist of three parts.

The first is the main wrap-around. It's hard to explain with words but I'll try. The first picture above will help. Glue one end of a piece of wire to the tippety top of the leaf. Then curve it behind the leaf and glue it down in the center. Then bring it out again other side on top of one of the bottom sections. It then needs to go off of the center of the leaf at the bottom and stick out about an inch. Then cut it with an inch or two to spare and form a loop on the end of the wire. Twist the loop once and glue the very end of the wire to the back in the center.

For the next pieces make two arches. The first goes through the loop of the first piece on the bottom with one end. Then glue both ends to the back. Once again, the pictures above will hopefully be very helpful. Repeat this step with the other arch but on the other side.

The backs of these leaves are not very pretty, but if you want them to be, you could glue another piece of leather to the back over the secured wires.

Step 5: Finished!

Now you have a nice leather leaf of Lórien. You can use it to clasp your elven cloak or use it as a pin. You could also leave it in the middle of a grassy plain for someone to find. If needed. I hope you enjoyed the Instructable!