Well the tanning process is beyond me. I havn't looked here yet but in AZ There was a tandy leather not far from me in Phoenix. I bought the leather there. Some as the belt blanks were natural (I guess is the term) So most I did to them was dye them and apply leather conditioner. But as Razor pointed out, it can get expensive just accumulating the tolls and such. Not to mention some of the chunks of hide. That's the problem. Everytime I start into something new. I start basic, then... I want to do more or something more difficult and it gets expensive.
Yeah Holly, some crafts should not be lost. Good thing there are still some craftsmen around that actually know what they are doing. I just made some simple USEFUL items....