We had a canceled vacation a few weeks ago (Doc’s mom is having health issues) but I still wanted to go somewhere on my day off. I ended up at the creative re-use store 40 minutes from home and saw an entire poppy red leather hide for TWELVE DOLLARS; I immediately decided to make a project with it, as one does.
This fashion belt bag pattern had crossed my radar the week before and I realized I could re-create a $395 designer bag pretty convincingly with that pattern and hide.
…Just like this!
This hide was thicker than my last leather sewing project and my machine struggled a bit, so I decided not to line the bag. (It’s not like leather is going to fray.) I didn’t do a matching strap so I wouldn’t have to sew triple thicknesses of leather, but a contrast strap is also something the designer does: 
I added leather tabs to the end of the strap to make it look more intentional, like the ready-made one, and reverse-engineered the strap mechanics from the pictures on the site.
I hadn’t been sidetracked by a new project in a while; this was fun to just obsess over for a couple free days. And now I have a lifetime supple of leather so I can make all the bags I want!