I am honored to have been asked to create awards for the county fair again this year.
Hair on hide banners for many categories and keychain/bag tags for the Peewee exhibitors. All the hard work was done by Lightburn. Thank you devs and programmers for a top tier product.
The the first one is leather, and the second is what? Black leather?
I bought a cow skin rug and cut it into 9x12 inch strips. I get from 18-20 banners from each hide (nesting tool would be helpful 
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A 3-inch strip of tanned black leather is sewn on each end. The bottom is cut into fringe, and the top is doubled over to make a pocket for a 1/4 dowel.
Do you come out with anything in your pocket?
I am not donating, but I am not chasing Benjamins, either. The Keychains have a landed cost of around $1.85 and I sell those for $3.00.
The banners normally go for $50.00 per piece, although I do give the 4-H office about a 35% discount. Supporting the program that has directly benefitted my kids, and the repeated, large quantity orders make that a win-win for me. I have about $18.00 in material per banner. The leather sewing machine has been paid for, so margins are up a bit this year.
Hey Thanks. Thats all good info for everyone here.
I could swear I’ve never seen it. Unless it’s what we call “camurça” here in Portugal.(suede is the English translation).
I don’t think I’ve ever seen cowhide used for anything other than rugs. But the truth is, I’ve never really paid much attention to accessories either.
Thank you for the clarification. 
I think if I did something like that at home (laser engraving the hide), a neighbor would ask if I was singeing a pig. 
I don’t see it done anymore, but I saw it many times as a child. Different times…
