Polymer Clay Tutorial | Faux Leather Technique, Unisex Fall Jewelry
Vid #127: "Yes, I would like very much to learn more styles for boys/men." ~Meg-B
Polymer clay faux leather is often made in larger sheets for covering boxes and tins. But since this blog is focused more on jewelry making, I will show you examples of how the faux leather technique can be used to make charms, tags and beads.
In this weeks library video, you will learn how to make Fall inspired, Faux Leather Oak Leaf Charms. Perfect for wearing with a sweater and a pair of jeans on a crisp Autumn Day. A big added bonus is that faux leather also works great for the guys!
Yes, I would like very much to learn more styles for boys/men. I am totally out of the loop on what is acceptable and "cool" these days for males! ~Meg-B
The following comment from DJ makes reference to some Autumn colored lentil bead jewelry that you may also want to have a look at for inspiration.
The colors and patterns on the beads are quite striking. These would look great with the autumn colored clothes in the stores now. Thank-you for the inspiration. Cindy, thanks too for all the wonderful, detailed tutorials. Just signed up recently, and I'm hooked. The blogs are a great source of feedback as well, a really nice group where everyone is so supportive. So glad I found this site! ~DJ
The full version of the Vid-017-3 tutorial will be posted in the Polymer Clay Members Library on Friday October 16th, 2009. But if you would like to see a sneak peak intro clip right now, scroll down the page a bit to the video player below.
Here's That "Link Below" Referred To at End of the Video
>> Polymer Clay Tutorials <<
The full version of the "Faux Leather" preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Bead Making Videos Library in the Vol-017 Back Issue Package.
Customer Feedback About Membership Value:
I'm so excited to make this! I just finished watching the video** and I wanted to tell you how much I'm enjoying my membership (so much so, in fact, that I bought three back-issues today!) I'm definitely the "see and immediately want to try it" type. Thanks for having such a great resource. ~Katie-C
** Reference to Vol-016-4 Flower Cane Tutorial.
The following topics are included in this "Faux Leather" video tutorial:
- See examples of charms and beads that were created using the faux leather technique.
- Discussion of why Studio by Sculpey clay works great for making faux leather jewelry.
- Learn how to create the texture of real leather using four different household materials. No special tools required.
- Demonstration on how to create stamped and stitched leather effects.
- How to antique your textured clay to give it that genuine look of real leather.
- Discussion on how to use your faux leather charms and beads for a variety of different jewelry projects including unisex jewelry and jewelry for men.
The full version of the "Faux Leather" preview video shown above, is now available for purchase at the Polymer Clay Bead Making Videos Library in the Vol-017 Back Issue Package.
Filed Under: 05: Techniques, 15: Promotions by Comment. 
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Comments on Polymer Clay Tutorial | Faux Leather Technique, Unisex Fall Jewelry
5:33 am
Yea! This is going to be fun. Love that little book bead!!
6:08 am
I can almost smell the leather. Can't wait!
7:45 am
Hurray for Friday, love the faux leather and that little book spoke volumes a while back. Will be a great Friday!
5:11 pm
Love the look of this. Now I guess I'm going to have to find some Studio Sculpey. Alright! More shopping and more beads!
3:43 am
This is perfect timing! I have started working on Christmas gifts and have a hard time coming up with stocking stuffers for my older grandsons, 12 and 15. If you can give me some ideas for the boys in my life I would be so grateful. You are terrific Cindy. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!
2:24 am
WOW You must of been sitting there waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Love it, Love it, Love it, You just want to pick it up to see if it smells like leather. I am having one of my sleepless nights so I'm on my way to see what color of sculpey I have. Let you know how it turns out.
THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN CINDY
6:38 am
Hi Cindy:
I love the look of the leather charms – thank you. Did you bake the pieces again after you antiqued them?
9:03 am
Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoy the technique!
@Peggy: Wow! Now that's dedication… watching tutorials at 2 in the morning! Glad you liked it!
@Carol: No. There is no need to bake again after antiquing.
Cindy Lietz
Surrey, BC, Canada
Where are you from?
5:30 pm
Hi Cindy. I know, long time no write. But its been a busy summer/fall here. What with weddings and summer fairs and now the fall festivals winding down. And a nasty run in with the flu bug all around(the ordinary kind thank goodness!)Oh yes, and my newest grandson, Zachary William, born on this past monday the 12th. to my son in the army down in Texas.That makes 6 grandkids! Gawd do I feel O-O-OLD! Im hoping things will slow down a bit now. (Who am I kidding? The Holidays are coming!)Anyhoo, I have been keeping up with things on here as much as possible, and watching the tutorials as always. However, its usually so late Im too tired to write anything coherent or useful. But when I saw this tut I had an idea I just had to write in about. I wondered if anyone has ever done any real leather work and might have some of their leather stamps around to try using on the clay? I have several here that I got on Ebay a loooong time ago, and I think they would work really well and lend an authentic leather look to the items too. The letter stamps especially would be great for monogramming a gift. If only they werent all packed in a box somewhere along with all my clay tools, I would already be trying it! If anyone does try it? Please take pics to share. Im curious how they might turn out. As it stands with studio progress tho, it might be a while yet before I can try it myself. So add another technique to my rapidly becoming monstrous "to try" list, thankx to you Cindy! Dont ever stop. XOXO Jamie
.
6:13 pm
Well I have several leather stamps that have purchased over the last couple of years not for leather but polymer clay. I use them quite often on smaller items. I have mostly used them on the necklaces I make out of the match boxes. Don't have any pics but I might be making a couple for Christmas gifts and will try to remember to take some photos. They really work well on clay. Not sure how they do on leather. I have also used them on paper card projects. Maybe some day I will try leather.
Keep creating,
Peggy in Fort Madison Iowa
That's southeast Iowa on the Mississippi
7:10 pm
@Jamie: Hi Sweetie, nice to hear from you! Sorry to hear you were ill. :-( … but congrats on grandchild #6! Great idea for using the leather stamps! I think they should work really well and by the sounds of what Peggy said, they do. Take care of yourself. Keep popping by when you can. We miss you when you are gone.
@Peggy: That is so great to hear that the leather stamps work well on polymer clay. When you do get a chance to snap some pics, we would love to see them. Thanks for your comment!
Another stamp that would work well for this technique is the AlphaDisc Letting Tool. The link by my name will take you to a post on that.
Cindy Lietz
Surrey, BC, Canada
Where Are You From?
7:37 am
This is a wonderful technique. I just got done making 12 of these in fall colors. not sure if I am going to use them for key chains or make a colorful leaf necklace, but I love this. Thanks cindy for yet another awesome new technique.
Kriss
12:13 pm
Well, not sure why last comment didn't go through, but am trying again. Love this technique Cindy. so much so that I made 12 this morning. Four in two sizes each set in three different fall colors. Not sure if they will be a necklace (most likely) or key chains, but I am loving this technique. Thanks again.
Kriss
4:21 pm
@Kriss – Way to go Kriss! I love hearing stories about stuff getting done :-) Send me pics if you like. Not sure what happened with your first comment getting delayed like that. Oh well… no harm done.
**PHOTOS ADDED: Some project pictures have just been added to a Spotlight Feature showcasing Sarah Wood, a valued member here at this supportive polymer clay community. Click on the "Polymer Clay Rose" link by my name to have a look.
4:42 pm
Hi Cindy, Happy Sunday! I wanted to wait until I got these into a necklace before I sent you this picture. I want to redo these and be a bit more careful on my "stitching", but I still enjoyed how it turned out. I loved this technique and want to make more in different colors and patterns. Thanks for this one. I am about to do a butterfly pendant now from the pendant video. I finally have some free time to play so am taking advantage of it fully. LOL Take care, Kriss Johnson
4:49 pm
Kriss those are very nice!!! Thanks for sending in the photo. It really helps for everyone to see variations from the ones I make in the video tutorials. I look forward to seeing your butterfly pendant when you get that done As well. Have fun playing with your clay.
6:48 pm
Hi, Cindy — I will probably use acrylic paint as my antiquing medium. Do I need to seal the pieces after using the paint or is that unnecessary?
Thanks so much for this tutorial — can't wait to try making some myself.
Sherry
12:10 pm
Hi Sherry, great question! As long as you use an acrylic paint and not a cheap quality craft paint like poster paint or tempura paint, there is no need to seal it after painting it on your polymer clay beads. Acrylic bonds quite nicely to the clay! There is an article linked by my name that has more info on using acrylic paints with polymer clay if you want more info.
6:10 am
Hi, Cindy — Thanks for getting back to me so quickly (as you always do). You gave me just the answer I was hoping for, because I was afraid that a sealant would take away from the leather effect. Thanks for the link to your article on acrylic paints and polymer clay — don't know how I missed it the first time.
Have a great weekend!
Sherry
4:26 pm
Question re studio by sculpy clay. I bought some today to use for this tutorial & found it odd to condition. I ran it thru the pasta machine numerous times – way past what I'd do for Premo. The clay felt soft & flexible, but still cracked across the bottom. Is it normal for this brand to crack across the bottom?
11:02 am
@Sherry: You're welcome!
@Rose: You haven't done anything wrong. Sometimes clay will crack along the bottom even when conditioned properly. That doesn't matter as long as it isn't so crumbly that is falls apart. It is actually nicer to have your clay be firmer like that, than for it to be all squishy. If you want more info on conditioning clay, click the link by my name.
11:40 am
Thanks for the link. I also watched your video, but for me, it's the clay. I never managed to get a nice smooth piece & ended with using a large amount of clay to get enough for 3 small tags to put on packages. The clay just crumbled into larger & larger sections on each side until I just had a narrow – about 3 inches of workable clay in the center of the strip. I blended 3 colors so it isn't just the one package. The tags sure are cute though – look just like leather. But next time, I'll use Premo. 3 friends ordered book hooks. I made bags out of some leather-look paper I had & will wire the tags with a bead onto the front. Think it'll make a nice looking wrap.