DIY fantastic: Leather Swallow Bag Charm

I have a lovely new handbag, courtesy of my man. It is totally gorgeous and the only thing I could possibly think of that might add that little bit of diy-je-ne-sais-quoi was a cute little bag charm! I used some leather scraps, gold chain and a lobster clasp and got to work...

These are the ingredients for the bag charm:

What you will need:
Some fun coloured leather or material
A template for your charm - I chose to go with a swallow to match my bag
A short length of chain, I used a gold belcher chain
A few matching gold jump rings and a lobster clasp
A leather drill (or hole puncher) if you have one, otherwise you can improvise this step
A pair of pliers
Needle and thread and scissors

Steps:
Use your template to cut out two shapes in the leather that fit back to back:

Then add your embellishments as desired - I chose to use a stud for the swallow's eye. Then gently sew around the two leather swallows together - I found the teeth on the bottom of the machine were scratching the leather as I sewed, so I used a layer of tissue paper underneath to protect it. This was then peeled away after the sewing was complete. Leave a small gap to stuff your swallow with a little wadding and then sew over the gap to close it. The stuffing really gave the swallow dimension and the light danced off it!

Once you are happy with the swallow you can use the leather drill (or just a sturdy needle) to make holes in the top and bottom of the swallow. A jump ring in each can then be connected to the short lengths of chain and to the lobster claps or key ring fob at the top. I also added a small arrow-head as the final drop on the chain using the same method as above. And there you have it!