HOW TO MAKE REALISTIC FAUX LEATHER PAPER

Inside: easy technique to make faux leather paper from tp rolls.

I love techniques. I love finding new ways to use old unwanted or unneeded things, namely recycling and reusing. One of the most common thing we throw away are empty tp rolls. How about using them to make faux leather papers for a craft project or a mini album?

Making faux leather paper is an easy technique that give paper a look of leather. This technique is very easy and requires a few supplies.

Once the faux leather paper is ready you can use it for:

• Background paper for scrapbook pages
• Pages for a mini album
• Base paper to cut embellishments or letters
• Sewing pockets or photo mats on layouts and mini albums
• Masculine cards
• Steampunk and mixed media projects

WHAT PAPER TO USE

For this technique you need to use a cardstock that is thick enough to endure all the steps of the technique. Plain thin paper is not suitable because it will tare.

I used tp rolls as the base paper for this technique for these main reasons:

• Tp rolls are thick enough for this technique.
• They are always available in case I don’t succeed to get the look I want so I don’t waste expensive cardstock.
• I don’t need to paint them to have the color I want because they already come in a “leathery” color.
• They are the right size and structure to make pockets on a layout, mini album or tag book.

SUPPLIES FOR A FAUX LEATHER PAPER TECHNIQUE

To achieve the look of leather on your paper you’ll need these supplies:

• Tp rolls
• Glycerin from a drug store
• Water spray bottle
• Distress inks
• Distress ink blending tool
• Bone folder
• Gel medium
• Die cut machine (optional)
• Embossing folder (optional)

MAKE FAUX LEATHER PAPER

1. Flatter the tp rolls. If you have a die cut machine run them through the machine to flatten them completely. if not then place them under something heavy fora few hours.
2. Mix a little Glycerin with water in a spritzer and spray the tp rolls until they are damp.
3. Rub the rolls to infuse the water inside.
4. Crumple the tp rolls to create wrinkles in the paper.
5. If you want to add texture to the paper run the tp rolls in the die cutting machine with an embossing folder. This step is optional.
6. To finish the look blend two shades of distress inks on the tp rolls.
7. Seal each side with gel medium. It will also give it that shiny leather finish.

Here’s the complete video tutorial to make the faux leather tp rolls:

I used the faux leather tp rolls as pocket pages in a steampunk mini album I made. Check out the two part video tutorial on how I created the mini album:

Part 1

Part 2

Did you know that Glycerin is a very useful tool in the craft room? Find out what you can do with it HERE

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Have fun creating!