Leaf 'rubbing' On Leather?

[taliah]

I work with primarily scrap upholstery leather that is generally 1 or 2 oz. It's always colored and treated.

What I want to do is do a 'leaf rubbing' on a piece of leather - not a carving, but somehow just get the stain of the leaf/shape from either hammering it into the leather with a rubber mallet and light cloth or some other way unknown to me.

I know I can't do this with the leather I currently use - but am unsure what i could use. I'd rather not use a thick tooling leather, but if that's all that would work then I'll do it.

Does this many sense to anyone at all? Anyone know how to do it or what type of leather I should use?

Thanks!

talia

[leatheroo]

Hi talia, unfortunately this will not work with the chrome leather which you have. You will need plain veg tanned leather. Thoroughly dampen the leather and place leaves on the leather. Then place something heavy on top and leave overnight maybe. I find those kitchen glass cutting boards with a flat bottom good to put down first and maybe a big book. Don't expect to get colour from the leaves just the imprint.

cheers

caroline.

[taliah]

Thanks!! I'll try it out!

I have some plain veg tanned, but it's super thick, so I'm hoping to get my hands on something thinner. Does such a thing exist with veg tanned leather? I suppose it does, I'll just have to look. Thanks so much!

[leatheroo]

taliah, you can try it out on the thick, damp leather..put the leaf on top (the grain side) and then something heavy on top...or you could try another piece of damp leather face down and the weight on top. This way you should get two imprints!

[cjdevito]

On small pieces of leather, you can do this by sandwiching damp leather with the leaves on top between flat sheets of acrylic and feeding them through a home embossing machine like those used in the scrap booking hobby.

For larger pieces lay out the leather with the leaves on top and put a panel of acrylic on top, then use manual pressure with a rolling pin to go over the acrylic panel. Just be careful not to put pressure anywhere near the outer edges of the acrylic or you'll transfer it's outline onto the leather as well.