Supernatural ss 12 and leather tooling

Watching Supernatural ss 12 (episode 11, in case anyone is wondering. It's an interesting ep. so far) on Netflix and trying to figure out how to go about properly learning how to tool and carve leather. So far, my general tactic of "learn as you experiment" really hasn't been going that well. I'm not a huge fan of the whole Western-style patterns but that seems to be the most popular pattern out there. I primarily do renaissance and steampunk costumes. The Western theme really isn't much of my thing so I've kind of been skirting around it. Well, that hasn't been going well for me so I'm putting aside my way for awhile. Eventually I'll be making pieces with Viking/Scandy/Celtic knotwork.

I'm thinking I'll start out pretty simple. Flowers, feathers, and leaves look like a good place to start!

Some resources for free patterns:

http://elktracks.net/free-patterns.html (Western-style)

http://imgarcade.com/celtic-leather-carving-patterns.html (Celtic knotwork) A warning for this link: apparently they're either spammers or have been hacked by them. You can still get to the stencils but it pops up stupid ads for adult content. So...go at your own risk, I guess. Definitely make sure your computer is computerSTD protected first, and don't click on anything that's not directly related to the content you're there for, obviously.

http://creativepro.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/default/files/story_images/20100625SAWG_fg09a.jpg


http://www.mountainwoodcarvers.com/wood_burning_accessories.htm (Patterns for sale).

Pretty much everything that you can draw an outline for, you can make a pattern from. Now, I need to stop procrastinating and get on this. Wish me luck!