warrior princess (xena), wrap your arms around this

I didn't use leather for the wristbands and armbands. I used a faux leather that is typically used for upholstery and backed it with a vinyl (also used for upholstery). I simply used tacky glue for the bonding--you will see that I used a TON of tacky glue on this project.

I pressed these overnight to ensure a secure bond.

I only had red vinyl :(

In order to recreate the raised gold motifs, I simply used fabric paint and an EXTREMELY steady hand. I first drew in the design using a permanent marker, then retraced with the gold fabric paint. I kept the lines a little uneven and bumpy to stay true to the nature of Xena's cuffs.

You can see where I made my lines with permanent marker.

For the armbands, I set flat-backed rhinestones into the wet fabric paint.

For the wristbands, I actually masked the border and used some of clay sculpting tools to flatten the paint. I suggest peeling the tape off after 5 minutes of applying the paint, otherwise the paint will come off with the tape if you wait until the paint is 100% dry.

The final step was "weathering". I brushed on some brown acrylic paint very quickly to the dried fabric paint to create more "depth", wiping away the raised areas. You can see what a big difference it makes on the shoulder pad design below.

Before

After