Finished Bible Cover: Composed Simplicity

I have now completed the Bible cover I was asked to make using black cow hide leather and red thread.

When creating a Bible cover, sometimes it is as difficult to simplify the design as it is to make it quite intricate.  The lady who asked for this cover wanted something simple. The simplest 
technique would have been to use the natural beauty of leather, carefully positioning its irregularities to make a feature of them and adding nothing to the surface. 

However, I love manipulating the surface of leather and I employ different techniques to do so. The following link is from an leather accessories website that gives a very simple explanation of the differences in some leathers.

http://www.maxwellscottbags.com/italian-leather-blog/2011/08/differences-in-animal-leather/