Stamped Leather.
Um yeah. Love. I love the smell, texture and look of stamped leather. And it's really not as difficult as it looks. I'll explain how in this easy to follow 1,374 step process.
Kidding. I get a little into it and really go for details, the basis of the process is the same.
Basic Supplies:
Premade unfinished leather wristband. I buy mine at
Tandy Leather
Stamping tools
Stamping surface and mallet
Paint or leather dyes
sealer (leather sealer or even Mod Podge works great!)
Steps:
1. PLAN your design. Crucial if you want to actually LIKE what you end up with.
2. Prep your leather wristband.
3. Stamp leather with stamping tools.
4. Paint or stain your design.
5. Apply sealer.
I'll take you through each step. Again, I'm a little over the top and detail oriented. On average I spend about 3 hours start to finish making a bracelet. Your design can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.
Here's what I'll be making: (It's a present for my friend Kolleen... shhhh... she hasn't seen it yet.)
1. Plan your design.
Consider all things. What text you might want.... Colors of the finished product... Finish.... Symmetry... borders.... embellishments. Aside from the general design elements also consider wrist size and utility of closure enhancements. That might sound confusing, but stick with me and I'll address each item as I get into the actual process.
2. Prep your leather wristband.
The only mandatory step in prepping your wristband is getting it wet. Use a spray bottle and saturate the leather with enough water that it remains cold and damp, but not so much that the leather can't absorb the water within a few seconds. If you have too much water the leather becomes too pliable and your stamped designs won't hold up as you continue to work the process. Not enough water and it will be very difficult to stamp the leather at all.
I'll share with you some of the extra steps I like to take to prep my wristbands.
On this bracelet, I really wanted to set the text apart from the design. I'll accomplish this by stamping the message onto a separate piece of leather and using leather adhesive to adhere the two pieces.
Using scrap or die cut leather, cut a piece to fit the design of your bracelet. When cutting I prefer to use a metal ruler and Exacto Blade over scissors. The leather will have very rough edges.
This tool can be used with or without a beveler to smooth the edges of your unfinished leather. I use it on any cut leather I'm planning to apply to my wristband, and also to the edges of the wristband itself.
The way the circle edge slicker works is by lubricating the edge of the leather and rubbing the edge of the leather against the inside beveled edge of the wheel to create a smooth finished edge.
Next. The wristband I am using is adjustable with two snaps. I know Kolleen isn't going to need the larger setting, and so I'm going to cut it off.
Using my metal ruler, and an Exacto Blade I cut evenly between the two snaps. I use a metal tin with rounded edges as a template and my Exacto Blade to create perfect rounded corners.
Because this wristband has a single snap standing between Kolleen and the lost and found, I want to add a secondary method of closure.
Begin by snapping the wristband closed and then using a leather punch, or Crop-a-dile (pictured) to line up and punch holes through both layers of leather.
I like to finish the holes with eyelets.
After the bracelet is complete I'll thread ribbon, string, cording, etc... through the eyelets and tie it off.
Finally, in prepping your wristband, if you are layering leather trace with pencil onto the wristband where the leather will be applied.
3. Stamp leather with stamping tools.
All leather stamping tools can also be used on chipboard. Chipboard is more difficult to stamp than leather, but also a heck of a lot cheaper. If you've never stamped leather, or if you are using a new stamp, I would recommend starting with chipboard.
Start with the text. Write out the words in the arrangement they will be on the wristband. ie. Single line, multiple lines, as a border etc.
Count all characters on each line (including spaces between words) and divide in half to find the center point. In my top line the center of my message is the space between the words "all" and "things", on the bottom line my center point is the letter "f" in the word "of".
Select an alphabet. I'm using the Chickadee design Chip Art by Melody Ross
Begin in the center of the top line and work from the center out. How many times and how hard the stamp must be hit is directly related to the surface area of the stamp. This alphabet, with it's very linear design, could very easily go completely through the leather. Whereas some of the more decorative bold letter sets might need a little more umph to get an acceptable transfer.
To correctly space your letters place the stamp and tip the stamp back and peak under, both from the bottom (for side to side spacing) and from the side (for top to bottom spacing).
You can also press the stamp into the leather gently by hand to check placement before stamping.
Continue stamping, always working from the center out.
Next, on the wristband I like to sign my pieces on the inside. This should only be done when layering leather, and not on single layer wristbands.
On the back of the wristband, in the space opposite where the leather will be layered stamp any design or message.
As you can see, when viewing from the outside of the wristband, stamping the inside severely damages the finish on the outside. In the design of this wristband the damage isn't a factor as the second layer of leather will be glued over the area of damage.
When it comes to decorative leather tooling there are three basic options.
1. Complete hand tooling. This used no preformed stamps, but only texture tools to create the design. Think of it like hand drawing.
2. Hand stamping with some preformed stamps. For example, preformed flower centers which are interchangeable with flower petals.
3. Complete preformed stamps. For example a rose stamp with no alterable features.
I use options two and three, and sometimes texture tools in the background.
Here I'm using more Chip Art Stamps by Melody Ross. Begin by stamping the flower center. Then line up the stamp.
Continue working your way around the flower center.
I prefer with larger flowers, to have the design flow off the page. Be careful when stamping over the edge of the leather. Be sure to hold the stamp at a 90 degree angle to the leather, and use less pressure with the mallet.
To create a smaller flower, and make the most economical use of my stamps I've used the same technique using a miniature flower stamp and a leaf stamp.
Continue stamping until you are satisfied with your design.
Next I like to add texture to the background. I've used the same pear shaped texture tool over all of the unstamped leather.
Around the top of the snap I've added Kolleen's name to personalize the wristband.
4. Paint or stain your design.
Before you begin painting determine the final finish for your wristband. If you know what you want your finished product to look like you can set steps working backwards to determine how to get there. For example I know I want to end up with a distressed turquoise painted wristband.
My first step is going to be creating the turquoise background. Then paint the details, then distress.
I still want to be able to see the leather through the turquoise, so I'm going to mix my paint 25% paint, 24% Mod Podge and 50% water. I use regular acrylic paint and a large brush and quickly paint over the entire bracelet. Then use a dry paper towel to wipe the paint off. If the color is too thin, simply repeat the process.
I want the same finish on both pieces of leather so I am working them together and comparing the result as I go.
Once I'm satisfied with the background I can begin painting my details. Again, I'm using standard acrylic paint. If I want my colors to stay very vibrant after I apply my final finish then I mix Mod Podge or a sealant into my paint. The sealant will make it so the final finish wipes almost clean off the painted areas. For this bracelet I'm using straight acrylic paint.
I use a fine brush and apply multiple layers of paint so the final result is completely opaque.
After my paint has dried I like to apply a contrasting color over areas with a lot of texture. To do so, I use a large wet brush and just barely touch the tip of the paint brush into my contrasting color. Brush the very watered down paint over the textured item and then work on pulling the contrasting color off either with a paper down of by drying your wet paint brush with paper towel and then using the brush to wick the paint off.
Once I'm satisfied with the paint I want to start applying my distressed finish. I mixed matte Mod Podge with brown paint in a respective 80% - 20% ratio. I then brush the finish over the leather and wipe it off with a damp cloth.
Before I apply the final finish I want to connect my leather pieces. Use an industrial strength adhesive designed to be used to bond leather. I like E-6000 and EL-80.
I have glued lace to the back of the leather piece I'm planning to attach to the wristband. Once the glue has set a bit (10 minutes or so) I apply a liberal amount of glue to the back of the leather and glue it in place on the wristband.
Finally, I want my lettering to stand out a bit more. Using a fine paint brush I'm going to apply black paint into the stamped letters. Since my distressing finish had a sealant in it I can easily wipe off any black paint that ends up in the wrong spot.
I like to apply a solid color to the back of my wristbands. It gives the wristband a real finished look and feel.
I have also applied red paint to the edge of the leather. To do this I"m using very thick partially dried paint and applying it with my fingertip, rubbing the paint into the leather. After the paint has dried I'll use my circle edge slicker to finish the edge and make it shiny.
5. Apply sealer
Finally, to really seal my wristbands I apply a liberal coat of matte Mod Podge over the entire wristband, front, back and sides. Paint can be mixed with the seal coat, but if too much paint is added it's easy to inadvertently cover all the work that was just complete. I prefer to add paint to my distressing during the painting phase, and then leave my seal coat without paint.
Allow the final seal coat to dry for several hours, preferably overnight.
And.... you... are.... finished!!
Snap the wristband closed and then thread ribbon (etc) through the eyelets and tie.
I love you Kolleen!!
Here are a few more examples of wristbands I've been working on:
I have a few more promises to fulfill... but after that I'll make some wristbands and put them in my Etsy Store.
xoxo
Cam
