Hello friends! Today I am back with another idea for embossing leather. I don’t know if you’ve tried this before- using a cutting die for embossing.
If you use a cutting die with embossing rubber, it gives you more of the embossed look rather than actually cutting. It still kind of cuts a little bit, but it doesn’t cut all the way through.
So in this experiment I decided to try this technique with a strip of leather.
I used a pre-made bracelet this time, however in other videos in this series I’ve used strips of leather I cut myself. You can cut the leather with rotary tools and a straight edge. I happen to have an Accucut machine with a die called Strip Maker and this is generally what I use. If you have read the Intro post for this leather series, I go into more detail there.
As in all my other experiments in this series, I spray the leather with water until the water starts to slow down soaking in. The leather needs to be damp, but not dripping wet in order for it to do anything.
I used an old cutting die from Tim Holtz which was supposed to cut and give the look of a cobblestone path. I placed that face up on the Sizzix Big Shot multi-purpose platform with Tab 1 down. Then I placed the damp leather bracelet face down onto the die. I covered the leather with embossing rubber and then covered that with a cutting mat. The mat that I am using is the Accucut purple creasing mat. I explain using these in other posts because these can be cut with metal shears and I show/talk about cutting them here. I needed an extra piece of a mat in order to fully cover the whole bracelet. If a die is not covered by rubber, it won’t emboss, and if it is not covered by a mat, it won’t emboss or cut depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Note that I did not place a mat over the snaps on the pre-made bracelet so they wouldn’t get ruined. If you are just using leather strips, you can cover the whole piece.
I loved the way this die “embossed”! So if you have these items in your studio, you might want to experiment on your own! If you’re going to dip your toe in embossing leather,
the pre-made bracelets are a great idea. You have to then be open to fiddling around with pieces of mats to avoid the snaps but when you are first starting out it may be worth it before
investing in leather sheets, cutting tools, finishing tools, snaps and tools etc.
Here is a shot of the finished project! Enjoy!
