Hide Pillows

Kanyon made pillows for our couch and I LOVE  them. Aren't they beautiful? We designed them together.

Christmas Leather

Kanyon had a ton of Christmas orders yet we only got a chance to take a picture of one of them!

And unfortunately, we didn't think about it until after dark on the night Kanyon was to deliver it. I hate taking pictures of his work inside with the flash. It always looks funky. And then I accidentally turned on the date display on the pictures. So we'll just call the quality of this photo a fail and focus on the leather, shall we?

He's got a couple jobs coming up that I'm really excited to see how they turn out!

Leather Work for Tyler

One of our friends Tyler graduated from high school this week and Kanyon made his graduation gifts! I am also including a wallet that Kanyon made for him probably a year ago that I never got a picture of until we were at his graduation party last week.

Tyler requested a zebra belt! I think it turned out so cool. Kanyon free-handed it and I was impressed.

The wallet is worn in a little but is still very pretty. I love how Kanyon tooled the floral around his initials.

And his other graduation gift was a bible cover. I really love it and so did Tyler!

For Valentine's Day this year, I tried to surprise Kanyon with a maker's stamp to put on all of his work. I say "tried to" because as I was in the middle of having it made, Kanyon started calling around to get one himself. I finally had to tell him that I was getting him one!

Floral.

Kanyon thinks that we probably don't need to take pictures of what may look like the same belts over and over again but I do. I like documenting his work and I hope you like seeing it!

I really liked this particular pattern. He made this belt for our friend, Quentin. I stared at the pattern for a while looking at all the detail. Its amazing the amount of work that goes into each belt.

It just floors me.

Have a great weekend! I'm hoping to get my laundry room cabinets painted!

Leather Pillows

I have to share a set of pillows Kanyon made for our friends' mom to give them for Christmas! This family has three sons and she wanted to give a pillow to each son with their family's brand on it. I love how they turned out!

I think they turned out beautifully!

Porch and Pillows

I threw Kasha a shower on Sunday and it went great! She got so many super cute girl-y clothes and gifts. Ainsley is going to be very well dressed, for sure!

Kasha has several pictures on her camera and I will get some from her to show you.

In the week before the shower, I was doing some re-arranging (I made some big progress on the guest room, almost done and I love it!) and attempting some crafti-ness. I made this wreath! The shower's colors were pink and brown and I love these yarn wreaths. It was very easy, just took a long time. I made it during the World Series, though, so I had a good reason to sit for several hours.

Last year, I bought a wreath like this on Etsy for about $25, I think. Now that I know how easy it is, I hope to make a Christmas one! I don't regret buying the previous one though, since I like to support small businesses like that.

Also new for our porch is the wire stand I bought in Fredericksburg last weekend with Mom!

I LOVE it! Willow House and I'm sure other stores sell items like this for around $75 but I got this one for $25. Right now my pots just have fake moss in them but next spring, I will be getting some smaller planters to fit in and around it with flowers. Flowers... haven't seen those in forever...

So the porch is looking cuter lately although everytime I see a picture I realize how much the crumbling cement and chipping paint sticks out. For some reason in person, it doesn't seem to near as much.

I told Kanyon I'd like to just paint it a cream to match the trim but he thinks it would make it stick out more. Maybe I should paint it a muted brown that matches the brick?

I have about twenty things in my house that I'm going to paint "someday"...

Also, I'm wanting to take down that light fixture and replace it with a non-upside down cuter one. I guess you can't really tell in that picture that its upside down though. But it is.

And last but not least, I want to show you the pillows Kanyon made for Al and Kasha. They had some axis hides and commissioned (that sounds so official) Kanyon to make pillows out of them with a leather back. I thought they turned out beautiful!

Now if I can only get him to make some for his OWN home... I think this will be a lifelong battle, Kanyon having to make time to make stuff for himself when he has a list of other people's jobs in front of him. 

Coasters! That's all I want! 

Well, thats not all I want.

Kanyon's Leather Shop

No, its not done, but that's okay. Its coming around the home stretch!

Well, I am finally giving you an update. I feel a little squirmish about showing you some of these pictures because there are some changes that still need to be made that will add to the "easy-on-the-eyes" approach that I am going for and that Kanyon (shockingly) has no care for. We'll see.

First a before:

YIKES. And that is after Kanyon replaced the roof! Just imagine a horrible roof for me.

Now, here is where we stand at the moment:

The exterior looks very basic but so much better! I'm very proud of how much work Kanyon has put into this little shop. We plan on painting the door the same blue our front door is and adding some metal decor (probably a Texas star - how original!) to the right side of the door, centered. Also, Kanyon is going to build a door from leftover metal from the roof over the closet on the left. 

A close up of the window. It is such a major improvement. Kanyon had to totally gut the trim and replace it.

Again, this is where we will have a metal door the same color of the roof. We think we are going to put Zeb's bed and a heat lamp for him in there.

And the inside - still some more to do, obviously, but the truth is - this is a shop, not a living room. The floor is a rubber material, which will be great for Kanyon having to stand for long periods of time and also for absorbing the thump-thump-thump of the treadmill when we're running on it. Kanyon is planning on building some shelving and other stuff we haven't worked out yet. But it is functional finally, and that is great!

 

 (where the treadmill will go - Kanyon doesn't think I'm strong enough to help him move it .. psh)

If you noticed above, there is a hallway off the front door. Kanyon is going to build some wall to wall shelving on the right and back wall. He will also replace that A/C unit. That closet on the left is a large one and we store lots of stuff in there. I moved all our Christmas stuff out of the guest room closet and Kanyon moved it all out there the other day. So nice to have all those boxes out. Now the leather gets to move out of the closet soon, too! Yay for re-claiming our closets.

Also, those white sheets are covering a trundle bed mattress, which will replace the treadmill in the office. So that means I get to buy new bedding ;)

Have a great Monday!

Coming Along..

Kanyon has been hard at work on the leather shop and its coming along nicely :)

He has gutted the window and door frame and then rebuilt both and replaced the door and threshold. That alone made a huge difference!

The last week or so, he has been work on the inside with help from his dad and Uncle Dan.

They replaced part of the flooring, one whole wall's sheet rock and insulated and sheet rocked the ceiling.

The last couple days, Kanyon has been kilzing and painting the walls and ceiling. We got a creamy tan for the color. I haven't been able to help him paint since I've been at work which is a bummer because I like doing projects like this with him.

Next up after painting is the floor, I think. He has chosen a rubber matting for the floor. Kind of like what you would see at a work-out gym under the dumb bells. At first I was bummed it wouldn't be something a little more "aesthetically pleasing"... but its better for him when he is having to do his work standing and we're also going to be moving all of our work-out equipment back there so it only makes sense to have that. 

There is a large closet in this apartment, too, that after I clean out (there is a lot of stuff we have in boxes that we labeled garage sale that now I'm thinking more along the lines of donation) will be a great place for me to store all of my Christmas stuff and get it out of the guest room closet. I'm pumped about having so much more closet space after all the leather and Christmas stuff is out!

The latest leather job.

With Kanyon working on his leather shop, I'm already excitedly thinking about all the room I'm going to get to re-claim in the closet of our office when he moves all his leather and tools out of it!

I'm also excited that he will get to have his own room out there to spread out and organize his stuff. I know his creativity and desire to do projects is really hampered by the fact that he doesn't really have a designated place to do it and has to dig through boxes for stuff. He said himself he can see himself doing a lot more projects once he has a room for it. Right now, its the kitchen table... nice.

He is still doing some leather work though. Here's a belt he made for our banker, Ed, last week. I think its beautiful!

New Leather Jobs

Kanyon was working on three new leather orders while I was in Houston this weekend so I thought I'd finally show the couple jobs I haven't shared yet.

This is one of the latest jobs. He made Landon, his brother, some spur leathers for his boots. I think they're gorgeous!

This is another picture of a project Kanyon made for his parents a few years ago. I've been meaning to take a better picture of it.

This is not a new project - its actually one of his first. This is the bible cover he made for his dad, Kalith, his first year he worked at the leather shop. Kanyon thinks its amateur looking, but I've always liked it and I know his dad loves it.

I had a great time in Houston and will talk more about it later. For now, I'm heading home to see Kanyon and my puppy - who, by the way, turned one year old on Saturday!

(I also bought our new MacBook Pro computer - yaaaaaay!!!)

Some of Kanyon's work

This week has been an emotional one, good and bad!

Monday night, the women in Welch started our new spring bible study from Beth Moore called "Beloved Disciple." It seems really great so far!

Tuesday night, Kanyon and I celebrated Valentines a day late in Lubbock and it was really fun. We left for Lubbock after I got off work and went tennis shoe shopping (that's what we "got" each other for V-day.. or really Kanyon just bought them for both of us...). Both of us were tired of the style that we've always gotten so we wanted to buy some that were different. I've always wanted some bright tennis shoes so I got these:

I'm pretty excited about them! Kanyon really wanted some brown tennis shoes so he got some sweet brown and orange Nikes. Neither of us really wanted Nike but both ended up with them. After shopping, we went and had dinner at a Hibachi grill in Lubbock. It was so nice to not have to battle the crowds like we do on a weekend in Lubbock!

Then yesterday, we attended the funeral of a man that's from around this area who was very loved and respected by all that knew him. Kanyon and Landon had so many stories about having fun with Danny and his kids. It was a very tragic accident that killed him. The memorial service was beautiful and attended by hundreds! It was extremely touching even to someone like me who had never met the man. My heart goes out to his family.

I've gathered a few pictures of some of Kanyon's work to show yall. There are still a couple that I want to get from other people but here's a few for you:

 He made this stand-alone cross for our friend Troy Howard (Zeb's breeder) a couple of 

years ago. Here it is standing behind the groom's cake at our wedding.

 Kanyon made these smaller crosses for all the groomsmen and ushers in our wedding.

He made crosses like these with different designs (all floral for my parents) for different things

here and there like Christmases. This one is currently hanging in Kenya with our friends Jason and Stephen.

 I picked out the leather and Kanyon made me this purse for me for Christmas a couple years ago.

And this beautiful piece he made and framed for him and his sisters to give their parents for Christmas

a couple years ago.

There are a couple more things I'm wanting to get pictures of but this is what I have for now. Isn't he talented?! These are only a few of the things he's made on the side when he was working for Damon in Abilene but now he's made a few more since he's moved home. And that's not to mention all the tons of stuff he made on the job.

KB Leather

With harvest ending at the end of last year, Kanyon has had a lot more time to do some leather projects people have hired him to do.

If you didn't know, Kanyon worked at 5D Custom Hats and Leather when we were in college, making all kinds of leather items and being the primary hat maker. 5D is pretty well known in the rodeo circuit so he got to meet - and make hats for - some famous rodeo men. It was pretty exciting to be watching PBR and see a rider wearing a hat Kanyon made them.

But Kanyon is not making hats anymore since that requires some fancy machinery, plus I don't think he's all that interested in it. But he has been collecting leather tools the last year and a half since he moved away from Abilene and next week, we get one of the most important tools - a heavy duty sewing machine! It is a big investment so he's been waiting to see how this year's crop did before he decided to go for it. He'll be able to make a lot more items plus make the items he does make already faster.

We have a little unfinished apartment in our backyard that Kanyon intends to make into his shop. Its got a lot to go but it's going to be great to get all of his leather stuff out of the office closet :)

It's windows, door, ceiling and possibly flooring all need to be replaced.. its going to be a big job but it will be awesome for him. And me - because he can finally make all the awesome stuff he's made for others for OUR house! We don't have a SINGLE item that he's made in our own house but he's made all these beautiful crosses and a framed verse for others. I think its kinda funny... but not funny enough to not hint I want something soon to show off.

My favorite thing he's made lately: a belt for our friend Troy Howard (Zeb's breeder) --

Isn't it pretty? He makes belts, purses (ladies?..), bible covers, all kinds of cowboy stuff that I'm not going to pretend I remember the names of, wallets. Both for boys and girls. He made an awesome bible cover for Kasha a couple years ago that I want him to make for me :) I think I need to gather up some stuff he's made and show yall. I'll do that.

Off to staff meeting!