Belts & Buckles 101: The Right Size Belt

Belts & Buckles 101 has finally returned for a short installment! One common question for anyone ordering a belt is "what size??". The answer is not "whatever size your waist is". So here are some tips...

Keep in mind!

• Belts usually come in even sizes - 30, 32, 34, 36 inches...
• Err on the side of too big! If you get a belt that is a bit too big, you can take it to a leather/saddle/cobbler shop and have them punch in another hole. Or just do it yourself with a sharp knife, ice pick, or similar. But if your belt is too small, there's nothing to do but return or exchange it...bummer.
• For a perfect fit, your buckle should attach to the center hole. (There are usually 5 holes in a belt.)

The very best method

If you already have a belt that you like to wear, it is best to use it to figure out your size...

1) lay your belt out flat

2) measure, in inches, from the hook, D-rings, snaps, etc. (basically, wherever your buckle holds onto the belt)

to the hole that you use (or whatever part of the belt "hooks" with the buckle)

I use the second hole from the left, or the scrumple-y bit of the fabric belt. Both of them are at about 32 inches...so that's my belt size!

3) the measurement you get is your belt size - that's it!

Other ways to do it

But perhaps you're buying a belt because you don't have one now. Here are a couple of tips...

• If you are a guy or a girl who wears pants with a waist measurement in inches, the rule of thumb is to add 2 inches to that to get your belt size...  30 inch jean waste + 2 inches = 32 inch belt size. And remember, if you are not sure, choose the size up!
• Try on your best friend's belt, check out the size, and just add or subtract the inches that you need for it to fit.

Buckles, buckles, everywhere!

Sorry I haven't put up a new post recently. Buckles and Belts 101 will continue sporadically, and definitely let me know if you have any particular belt or buckles questions!

Even though class hasn't been in session lately here online, I've been having Buckles 600 at home and all the surfaces around are filling up with buckles. Big Sky is hosting a high profile international conference in May and I'm betting some of those visitors are going to need a buckle or two. After all, buckles are a quintessential western accessory. And that means making sure all my fabulous retailers are well stocked.

So...

buckles by books...

buckles on the mantel...

buckles on the ironing board...

buckles on the living room chair...

and buckles in the light box...

Well, so much for spring cleaning. Good thing I love buckles more than brooms!

Are you spring cleaning or stockpiling something more fun?

Thinking of spring

We had an epic powder day yesterday. It included

• fresh tracks
• 12+ inches of new snow
• sunshine
• many face-shots
• maximizing the awesome-ness of my new (extremely fat) skis
• general celebration of snow and winter 

Nevertheless, today I find myself daydreaming of summer mountain trails.

And thinking of summer is inspiring buckles with fewer ski maps and more color. Even though this has some autumn leaves, it also has the bright colors of summer!

Back to daydreaming now...

Or putting more wood in the stove.

Thanks for the dance!

Clearly all of you had a great time getting your groove on for a snow dance, because it worked. Thank you!

I just got back from our backcountry yurt trip over in the Tobacco Root mountains - 4 days of great snow, fantastic company, and some good ol' time in the wilderness. Thanks to the Montana Backcountry Adventures folks for keeping this yurt up and running!  Here's the tour...

First off, home base yurt. Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the backcountry yurt without some wood chopping. And a dog to gnaw on all the wood chips....

You already know of my love for wood stoves, so I can't help but show off this beauty that lives at the yurt. She's even got the side car that you can fill up with snow to make warm water for dish washing. I imagine that if you were a real pioneer woman, this handy contraption would be a high priority on your pioneer husband's to do list.

The real point of the yurt ski trip, though, is the ski part, so there was lots of that too. Hard work going up...

pays off with lots of fantastic turns, almost captured on film!

And along to keep us entertained, was our trusty powder hound. Here he is scouting his fresh line. I can tell you that he does a lot of straight-lining and is always getting face shots. He's a real snow junky like that.

What an adventure!

Also, since this blog of course includes belt buckle talk, I'd just like to warn you. When you return to the truck after a long ski out from a yurt, and the temperature last night was well below zero, and the current temperature is probably not too far above zero, and you are pulling your change of clothes out of the truck and putting them on, you should probably tuck in your shirt. Because that belt buckle is cold!

The belt buckle to match this snowy trip? Or course, ...

Now, back to work!

Why Buckles?

Buckles, huh? When there are so many great things to make out there, why choose buckles? Well...

I've always loved to make things by hand. Several years ago I thought what better way to try my hand at a handmade business (sorry, couldn't help that one) than jewelry, right? So I made jewelry...

Jewelry for my sister-in-law's wedding...

Jewelry to sell at the summer market...

And making jewelry was good, and I liked it and as best I can tell other people liked it to. But here is the thing - I don't actually wear jewelry. Well, I do, but only the same jewelry every single days for years. Here's the run down...

The blue lapis ring goes on my right hand and was given to me about 10 years ago by my high school (and still) best friend. She made it in a college class.
The other set of rings are pretty obvious - my simple engagement ring and the single wedding band Mr. Moon surprised me with at our wedding. These go in the usual spot.

 

Then there's the necklace Mr. Moon gave me about 6 years ago. It was the first sign of true love and the only time I'm not wearing it is when the leather string breaks.

And the three "sleeper" earrings - 2 in the left ear, one in the right. I think I can safety say I've been wearing these for more than 15 years.

 

And, of course, the nose ring. I got this on my 18th birthday at "Mom's Body Shop" in San Francisco, and nothing has changed since.

 So, as you can see, I have a wonderful, but very, very stagnant, relationship with a few particular pieces of jewelry, and it really ends there. (Unless it's a really fancy wedding, but that doesn't happen too often around these parts.)

And here is the other problem. I'm not really a girly-girl. I don't wear make-up, I don't own hair products, and I'd rather climb a peak than go to the mall. Also, I don't really wear dresses. My power suit? It's pants and a jacket. So where does that leave me? Belt Buckles!! I could wear the heck out of belt buckles!

Belt buckles are...

• practical (needed to keep my belt on to keep my pants on)
• have personality - of all sorts
• do not get in the way when I have to lug some wood into the house

Belt buckles with salmon shirts...

Belt buckles with brown shirts...

Belt buckles with jeans and black...

So when I'm making belt buckles, that means that I can make a million things that I want to wear. And that is a good time!

Big Sky, Blue Sky, Belt Buckles!

Living in Big Sky is often like living in a beautiful paradise. I have to pinch myself and remember that these gorgeous mountains and awe-inspiring landscapes really are my backyard! And, of course, during ski season town is abuzz with skiers and tourists who have come to enjoy our champagne powder and blue skies. Not to mention that there's never a line at the ski lift.

To celebrate Big Sky and ski season, I'm sharing a photo I took just the other day - while running an errand!  Paradise...

Blue skies and perfect powder runs do tend to inspire a few buckles, too. Lately, I've been making a whole variety of ski map buckles and I also love this recent Snow buckle...

As always, if you see a buckle here that you'd like to get or something similar, just let me know and I can probably post it on Etsy for you.

And if you haven't ever been to Big Sky - or Montana - I would highly recommend a visit. Once we arrived, we were hooked!

All the best from Wild Bear Buckles in the great Big Sky!

Crafting: Finding ideas for inspiration!

Some days I could spend hours making buckles and never stop to take a breath, but other days I just sit and stare at the piles on my desk. What's the difference? Inspiration! 

Here are some of my favorite ways to get inspired and things that I find inspiring...

- I'm a frugal person (that's the nice way to say it  :)  ), so I always keep old greetings cards and fun scraps of paper around - you just never know when they'll be perfect for a project.  So take a look through your piles of saved scraps.

- When my husband and I want to think about adventure, the first thing we do is pull out maps. We have piles of them. So why not create fun items from the maps I love to look at. What do you love to browse through? How can you use that item in a project?
The beginning of a new buckle...

- Around town I keep my eyes open for things I like and that are eye-catching. All the beautiful colors at the paint store - put them to use!

- Borrow from one craft to give to another! Besides making buckles I also love to sew. Turns out there are a million fun fabrics with great designs. Why not borrow from my sewing stash for my other favorite craft? Blanket or buckle...

And, finally, there's always inspiration to be found online...

• Browse the amazing crafts and great photos at craftgawker.com
• Look at the beautiful treasuries on etsy.com
• Find a few blogs that have a great aesthetic. My choice today is elle.mnop - a pleasingly simple website with beautiful photos, fun ideas, and a mishmash that's fun to explore.

What items inspire you?

Calendar of owl illustrations - free!

It's half way through January and you don't have a calendar on the wall yet?!  Don't despair.  Check out this fantastic free owl calendar.  You can choose just the illustrations you like and...tada!...a calendar for the whole year.  What a great idea!  I just couldn't help but share...

Montana made belts?

While I've just gotten in some genuine leather belts at Made in Big Sky...

I'd really like to find some local Montana made belts to sell with Wild Bear Buckles.  With all the cattle around here and handy craft people making chaps, holsters, leather decorations, etc. you'd think there would be someone making some perfect leather belts.

Do you know anyone making (or interesting in making!) leather belts in Montana?  If yes, please send me a heads up!  I'd love to do business...

Thanks!

Up on Etsy

Thanks to the encouragement of so many folks, Wild Bear Buckles is now on Etsy.com!  You can visit the shop at wildbearbuckles.etsy.com. 

For any of you who are also craft folks and considering Etsy - just do it!  The shop was easy to setup and has lots of fun tools.  For example, it only took a few clicks to create the EtsyMini that you see on the left bar of this blog page.  Perfect! 

Using PayPal for payment service also makes it easy to accept credit cards and get things rolling right away.  While they do remove a small fee (just like Etsy) it is probably well worth it if you are a very small business, like I am.

So, check out Wild Bear Buckles on Etsy and feel free to ask me any questions if you are considering a move to Etsy yourself!

Featured in the Big Sky Weekly

Wild Bear Buckles is featured in the Big Sky Weekly's first Gallery of 2011!  Check it out...

For sale @ Made in Big Sky!

Wild Bear Buckles is the newest vendor at Made in Big Sky!

Made in Big Sky is an art and craft coop in Big Sky where all items really are...Made in Big Sky!  Also, the artists and crafters staff the shop, so you can always find out a little something special about the items in the shop just by stopping in.


Stop by and visit!  In January, I'll be staffing the shop:
12-2pm, Sunday the 24th
4-6pm, Friday the 28th
4-6pm, Sunday the 30th

Made in Big Sky is open 7 days a week 12-6pm and is located around the corner from the Country Market in the Meadow Village (close to the post office).  Stop in and pick up Wild Bear Buckles and perfect fitting genuine leather belts to show them off.  I'm sure they will be your new favorite!

See you at Made in Big Sky!...

New buckles for the New Year

Happy New Year!!

We better start the year out right...
Here's some of the buckles from the newest batch.  I know you'll love them!

Belt buckles in Big Sky!

Welcome to Wild Bear Buckles new website!  You can keep your browser tuned here to check out new designs and catch up on the latest from Wild Bear Buckles.

To get started, here is the lowdown on Wild Bear Buckles:
The belt buckles are made of pewter and are 2 1/2" x 3 1/4" - perfect for a 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" wide belt.  Each Wild Bear Buckle has a wild/fun/cute/sexy design inside and has a clear, hard coating to take a beating.
Have an image you want in a buckle?  Thinking of the perfect design?  Along with the unique belt buckles already made, I'm  happy to create custom order belt buckles.
I also sell black and brown genuine leather belts in case you need something to keep your buckle on your pants!

Please get in touch to get your Wild Bear Buckle!

Here are some recent designs:

Keep your eyes here for the latest news and designs from Wild Bear Buckles!