How to Gold Emboss on Leather Books
Embossing leather books is fairly simple using tools found in most craft stores. You can emboss a name, special date or an image to create personalized gifts with a homemade touch. Professional embossers use heavy machinery, heat and foils to create gold-embossed leather book covers. When embossing at home, you can use leather stamps and mallets to create the necessary pressure to indent the leather.
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Things You'll Need
- Leather-covered book
- Scrap wood
- Water
- Sponge
- Leather stamps
- Ruler
- Mallet
- Paintbrush
- Leather dye
- Leather finishing product
Instructions
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1
Place the scrap wood on the table or surface you are working on so that it can absorb some of the pressure and provide protection. Place the leather book on top of the scrap wood. You can work with the book closed or just open the cover if the book is flexible.
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2
Dampen the sponge with water and wipe the surface of the leather you wish to emboss. This will clean the leather and make it more malleable so that the embossing is easier to accomplish.
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3
Assemble the leather stamps and place them onto the leather where you want to create the pattern. Using a ruler can help you space the stamps evenly. Leather stamps are specially made for leather and can be purchased at craft stores or leather supply stores. Stamps made for ink stamping are not strong enough to emboss leather.
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4
Press the leather stamps into the leather by hitting them gently but firmly with the mallet. Apply even pressure to all areas of the stamp so that the final embossing looks even throughout the entire pattern.
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5
Remove the leather stamps and make sure that the embossing is even. If the embossing is uneven, carefully replace the stamps and continue to put pressure on the leather.
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6
Paint the embossed areas using gold leather dye and a paintbrush. Use a small paintbrush to stay inside of the lines of finer embossing. Gold leather dye can be purchased at craft stores or leather supply stores. Cova brand dye is one example of leather dye that will work for embossing.
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Allow the dye to dry according to the manufacturer's directions.
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Tips & Warnings
When the dye has dried you can apply a leather finish product to keep the leather supple and protected if desired.
References
- Photo Credit leather image by Andrii Oleksiienko from Fotolia.com
