That's awesome Grutch! Good for her! My panels there are usually my more practice pieces and I tend to do more crafting like knife sheaths and stuff. I just never remember to take pictures.
You can find a surprising amount of leather from garage and church sales. There's always someone who started and doesn't do it anymore. Tandy is unfortunately the best quality I know of, and your not wrong about the expense. It makes warhammer look cheap sometimes. One suggestion I would make, is try and find your local branch of the SCA or re-enactors. They do a lot of work with leather and if anyone knows where to find the cheap stuff in your area, those guys will. Not only that but if your lucky and your local kingdom has a tutor (It's the title in my area) for leatherworking they might even be able to give tips or lessons.