What to do with White Leather?

What to do with White Leather? Well I suppose that all depends on what the White Leather actually is.  I recently had the chance to play with this gorgeous papermill Leather effect white card.  I looked at the texture and the colour and immediately 'handbag' sprang to mind.  (as always, the materials list & links are at end)

So here is my little white leather handbag shaped card.  I started off with a template which I drew around with a pencil and then hand-cut the outer shape.  I had to use a craft knife and self-healing mat to cut the inside handle and flap detail as it is all one piece, the waste from the handle actually folds down to become the flap.  (You could always add the flap as an extra separate piece of card if you prefer)

I didn't want to obscure too much of the gorgeous leather grain effect, so kept the decorations to a minimum.  I hand-cut another handle part, 2 little corner shapes,  and die-cut a clasp shape from Buff card.  I wanted to create a more textured look to these buff pieces and decided on versamark and clear embossing powder set with my heat gun, it gave the glossy yet textured look I was after. I drew some faux stitching around the bag shape and flap part with a Lyra pen in a reddy brown colour, this just adds a little more definition to the shape and also gives the effect of stitching on the 'leather'.  You could of course use a sewing machine to add some real stitching, I almost did that, perhaps next time.  

Using cosmic shimmer glue to attach the heat embossed handle and corner pieces, I also added some to the top half of the clasp shape and stuck that to the bottom part of the hand bag flap, allowing the bottom half of the clasp to hang.  To create the impression of the clasp closing, you can add a temporary fixing to the bag where the clasp meets it.  i used a small piece of a glue dot, they are not too sticky and so it is easy to open and close the clasp.  2 little faux half pearls add decoration to the clasp.

Next up was the little bag charm, I took a little key shaped charm and a flower charm, and along with some small seed beads, threaded them onto some gold coloured craft wire, the wire enables the beads to be bent into any position, which is useful for looping loosely around the bag handle.

I am pleased with how this little bag shaped card turned out, I think the Leather effect card really helps with the look and the experiment with clear embossing the Buff coloured card went better than I expected, as it gave not only a glossy look but lots of texture too.

Why not try making a bag shaped card yourself, or maybe a shoe card or wallet, I think the White Leather card would be perfect for those.  I already have plans to colour the card next time to make handbags or maybe a shoe card, haven't made a shoe card in ages. 


It is a great time to buy the 'White Leather' as it is currently a 'special offer' at papermill where you can buy it in either a small box £5, midi box £13-50 or mega box for £32-50.
 http://papermilldirect.co.uk/acatalog/special-offers.html

Materials List:
White Leather 230gsm card - Papermill Direct
Buff card 260gsm - Papermill Direct
Versamark Inkpad
Clear Embossing Powder
Lyra Pen
Seed Beads, Craft Wire, Charms 


If you like the look of the White Leather, why not find out more over on the papermill blog and the other DT blogs :

http://glitterarti1.blogspot.co.uk/

http://sandieshores.blogspot.co.uk/

http://apassionforcards.blogspot.co.uk/

http://designsforoccasions.blogspot.co.uk/

http://papercraftbliss.com/

Challenges Entered:

1)  Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes


 http://thesistersofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/sisters-of-craft-launch-of-our-new.html


Thank you all so much for supporting me by visiting my Blog today, I hope you will join me again soon, Angela