My grandmother was very creative when she was alive. She had many different hobbies and enjoyed making crafts.
She did a lot of cross stitch work and baking (as every grandma does). She also made these intricate paper pictures that came in a kit, and among other things, she did leather work and leather stamping.
I inherited her leather stamping kit many years ago and have made a few things myself over the years. The first piece and most elaborate one that I made was a woman's belt. I did that over 10 years ago and surprisingly, its still held up after so many years.
In the kit are dozens of different stamps that are used to create a wide variety of patterns.
You can create very simple patterns using single stamp or you can combine several to create some pretty intricate designs.
There are so many different stamps that it can be a little overwhelming trying to come up with a new design. I myself tend to just stick to the more simple ones that I have used before and are familiar with.
These are some samples that are in the kit, made presumably by my grandma. I don't really know who made them, they were just in the box when I got it.
The three designs on the left don't really look all that special but they are actually pretty complex. They are an example of what can be done when you combine several different stamps together. They are also more difficult because you have to really focus on lining them up properly to make them look seamless.
If you're really good like my grandma, you can actually carve the leather and stamp it to give it additional texture.
The other day I decided to make two simple book marks.
I measured and cut the raw leather and then created a border using a special tool - let's call it a "border tool." Then I spent time stamping out the design.
Before stamping you need to soak the leather in water briefly to soften it. I didn't show this step but you get the idea, put some water on it and let it absorb into the leather to make it soft. After that you just place the stamp and hit it with a hammer and thats basically it. One thing to note is that you have to make sure the stamp is oriented correctly. I turned the stamp in my hand at one point without realizing it and ended up with one set of horizontal lines among the rest of the verticle lines. There is only a little room for error in the process. Sometimes if you re-wet the leather and rub out the design or stamp over it you can hide mistakes. But that doesn't always work. Its best to go slow and do it right the first time and try to avoid mistakes.
You can also "tan" the leather before you stamp it, which darkens it and gives it a petina finish. You do this by wetting the leather and then massaging it with a rounded metal tool.
The sample pieces above are an example of what I'm talking about. You can see that they are darker and have a nice petina to them. The raw leather will also petina over time though, with basic use.
In the case of the book marks that I made I intentionally left them raw so that they would petina naturally with use. More reading equals more petina.
Above and below is the second bookmark that I made, with a different pattern. You can see what the stamping tool looks like from the underside, in the photo.
The pattern didn't line up perfectly within the border, so some of the edges look a little off. Maybe I'll experiment with extending the pattern further and then cutting the leather afterwards, and making the border last. I'm still learning and experimenting.
I love leathers and works that use leather. Your grandma seem like a really passionate one, and good for you for inheriting the kit. I would have loved that myself as well!
That flower design is really good and I learned from you that you gotta wet the leather first before stamping. :D
Recently, I learned about leather and how awesome they are for lasting years... And I got myself a leather folio to keep my journals, stickers, and bookmarks in one place. I love watching people craft with leather. There's a different level of satisfaction I feel cos I know it will last a long time compared to using plastics or synthetics that will end up in landfills after maybe a year or so.
At one point I wanted to do it myself, but that means buying the materials needed and I'm not ready for that lol. I for sure in the future will do crafting. :D
Its a fun hobby/craft. I just looked up the cost of the stamping tools and they have actually come way down in price since I last looked many years ago. Looks like you can get a set of 5-10 stamps on Amazon or Temu for like $20-30 CAD. back when I looked for new ones at a specialty craft store they were like $40-125 per stamp! That was probably 10 years ago now though. The raw leather can be hard to source also.
I agree that leather is an awesome material for being durable and lasting a long time. However there are different grades of leather, and some are so cheap in quality that they dont last more than a year or two. "Genuine leather" for instance is very poor quality, made up of scraps and glued together. It breaks down and falls apart rapidly. Think of the "leather" purses that flake off and disintigrate after a couple of seasons. But if you get good quality leather it can essentially last a lifetime.
I've seen a lot of cheaper prices on my local app too, the one that ships from China. They have a lot of good leathers also. But yeah damn that $40 per stamp is crazy!
Yeah I've heard about the genuine leather thing too. That and the "vegan leather" kinda sounds deceptive if you don't really know anything about leathers. I hate those plastic ones that flake off. :D
I don't know anything about vegan leather. I'll have to research that a little.
That pretty cool that you have a good quality leather source.
What a lovely gift to inherit from your grandmother.
I never thought of leather stamping as a hobby but I can see how fascinating it can be, and train you to focus. Plus, when you have the kit like you do, its so easy to set up and hammer away for a little while without having to say, wash up if you were to paint. Have fun!
Yeah its pretty low barrier to get going when you want to make something. Doesn't take a lot of time to prepare or get started or clean up, like painting as you mentioned.
Tipo, el cinturón de cuero que hiciste y que sigue intacto después de más de 10 años demuestra que el kit de sellos es bastante resistente, ¿pq no lo uses más a menudo? La foto donde aparecen 12 sellos diferentes me dejó pensando en lo complicado que es alinear varios patrones sin que se note el cruce, literal un juego de precisión. ¿Tenés algún truco para mantener los bordes alineados al combinar varios sellos?
Gorgeous! I used to have a homemade stamped leather belt I got from a charity shop and I loved it. When I stopped wearing belts it turned into straps to hold a folding table up on the door of our Defender, then it frayed and broke entirely. They're hard to come by now, and valuable - they're very 'boho' chic. What a great thing to have in your possession, and a cool thing to do. I never use bookmarks (unless they're scraps of paper) and I'm a hopeless dog-ear person, don't hold it against me.