DIY leather bookmark

Leather bookmarks are fun and easy to make. One variant is available on my website, www.atelieruldeistorie.ro, that specializes in handmade artifacts inspired by the civilizations of Antiquity, mainly Dacian, Roman, Celtic etc. The bookmarks in question can be included among those from the first category, as the chosen symbol that decorates them is the so-called draco (meaning dragon in Latin), the mythical half wolf, half serpent war standard of the ancient Dacians, once inhabiting the present-day territory of Romania. See my previous post on DIY leather project HERE.

The first step is to cut strips of sturdier leather, the size of the intended bookmarks, and to cut-out the draco shape out of thinner leather, after marking its contours with special marker on the back of the leather, following a cardboard model. The decorative effect of the draco is obtained through punching holes that suggest its eye and body straps.

Cut-out draco shapes

Bookmark-shaped rectangle leather pieces and punched-out draco leather shapes

Then, glue the back of the draco (or other) decorative shape with leather glue applied with a brush onto the base trips. Be careful not to put too much glue on the edges, as the surplus might come out while pressing the two elements together. Leather glue dries fairly fast, so not much pressing is needed.

Apply glue to the back of the draco shape

Gently press the model onto the base strip of leather

The final step is optional and purely decorative. I find the strict rectangular contours of the bookmarks not so pleasing, so I add some asymmetry by cutting out its corners and creating V-shaped indentations, of various sizes, throughout the long sides. They are randomly placed and sized, so just follow your instincts. Thus, no two bookmarks shall be identical!

Finishing touches - cutting off the corners

Creating V-shapes indentations along the long sides of the leather bookmarks

And so the draco leather bookmarks are ready to be used! See other color combinations on my website HERE.

Handmade leather bookmark inspired by the ancient Dacian civilization, by Atelierul de istorie

Handmade leathercraft

As we [The Proper Leather Studio] have just started a new batch of natural leather, tooled wallets, I though I should show you our method. The first painstaking step is to cut all the elements - outside, money divider, pockets - at their required dimensions. The outside is cut of thicker veg tan leather as it is decorated through tooling. The chosen motif (a skull and an owl so far from the current lot) is transferred by hand on the damped piece of leather, incised and tooled. The pockets are meanwhile hand-dyed - all black for this project.

Veg-tan leather cut for several wallets

 

Hand dyed leather elements (dividers and pockets)

The tooled motifs are then blocked with Leather Sheen and/or Resolene (we use Tandy Leather products for this). Resolene does a better job at blocking but allows for less hue gradients of Gel Antique. Sheene is more permeable but better for some projects. It all depends on the intended effect.

Blocking tooled leather motifs

The next stage envisages hand dying the outside of the wallets - around the blocked motifs - by brush and sponge and then applying and wiping Gel Antique from the entire outer surface. The combination of colors is rather important here, considering that the dye is covered with the semi-transparent Gel Antique and the precise and sufficient blocking of the motif, that should remain leather-color, with the gel just stressing the indentations.

Hand-dyeing

The parts and then assembled, glued, sewed and the edges finished.
 See our finished products on ETSY.