DIY Painted Leather Bookmark

Hello, all! While I could do totally do necklace DIYs forever, I felt it was time for something new. :) So as I was staring at my pile of leather scraps leftover from past clutches, I had a fun idea for what to do with them—make bookmarks!

Supplies:

Ruler, scrap of leather (2 x 10 inches)*, bristol board/cardboard (also 2 x 10), paper scissors, fabric scissors, sharpie/pencil, exacto knife, gold craft paint, paint brushes, palette, cutting board, binder clips.

*Leather scraps are fairly easy to find on the cheap. Any fabric store that sells leather will have a bin full of bits and pieces of every size and texture.

I cut my stencil the same size as the bookmark to make sure it didn't shift around. And now it also serves as a pattern for future bookmarks!

Inspiration, as they say, is quite literally everywhere. I swiped this chevron pattern from the vents inside my ancient elevator. I'm glad I took a picture when I did because my elevator is being renovated starting this week!

Mark your pattern. I left 2.5 inches for the fringe and centred my design on the remainder of the stencil.

Carefully cut out your stencil with your exacto knife over a cutting board.

Mark your fringe on the back of your leather 2.5 inches from the bottom. Cut the fringe with fabric scissors (or you can use your exacto knife if you don't have fabric scissors).

Place your stencil on your bookmark. Since I used a thin material for the stencil I found binder clips necessary to keep it in place.

Paint two coats.

Remove the stencil. Touchups with a small brush were needed at this point.

Finished!