Tutorial Tuesday - Faux Leather with Lori

Hi everyone!  It's time for another Tutorial Tuesday, and I'm going to try something a little different today.  I promise that today's technique is really easy, but there are a lot of photos involved.  So, what I'm going to do is post the tutorial here, and post the finished card with all of the other details over on my blog.

Faux leather is an awesome technique, and the look & feel can be totally different depending on the embossing folder and cardstock you choose.  For today, I'm showing you a traditional "country" style.  Here are the supplies you will need to duplicate this technique:

• embossing folder of your choice (I used the Perfectly Paisley folder)
• Cuttlebug or other die-cutting/embossing machine
• medium brown cardstock and coordinating ink
• spray bottle of water (optional)
• embossing ink
• clear embossing powder (I used Ranger superfine clear)
• craft tray
• heat gun

Now, on to the tutorial!  Remember to click on the individual pictures if you need to see things larger.

This step is OPTIONAL!

I first lightly mist both sides of my cardstock with water.  This just seems to make the embossing easier, and makes the embossed areas more crisp.  If you do this step, you can dry it after embossing by quickly heating it with your heat gun on both sides.

Next, place the damp paper inside the embossing folder and run it through your Cuttlebug or other machine.  (After this step, be sure to dry your cardstock if damp.)

This is what the dry embossed cardstock looks like.

Next you need your coordinating brown ink.  It's OK if it's not the exact color; just close.  You will hold the pad in your hand and rub it over the embossed design to darken it.

I went a little dark with my ink to make it easier to see in the photos, but you get the idea.  If you are going to want your leather to look aged, be sure to make your ink coverage uneven, and even leave extra swipes of ink here & there.  I didn't get too worried about perfection on this one (shocking, I know!) because of the country feel I was going for.

OK, now is the time to get together your embossing ink, embossing powder, and craft tray.

Now, you need to press your embossing ink pad over the entire surface of your embossed cardstock.  Make sure you completely cover everything.  (Yes, my ink pad happens to be a Versamark.  Any clear embossing pad, including the Tim Holtz pad in the CC store will work just fine.)  Place the paper in the craft tray and coat it with embossing powder.  Shake off the excess and carefully heat emboss the entire piece.

This image shows the difference in the paper before and after heat embossing.

And here is the finished product!  See, very easy.  Now, what to do with it?  Go check out this post on my blog for one idea; you're sure to come up with more, and we'd love to see them!  You're always welcome to post links to your projects in the comments section here, or send an email to the Cutters Creek Yahoo Group.