Modern Leather Earrings Embellished with StencilGirl® Stencil Designs

Oh hey my friends are you ready to make some modern leather earrings using StencilGirl® stencils?  I'm Debi Adams and I've been having an absolute blast over in my little craft workshop working up these cute little accessories. It hasn't been that difficult for me to find things to do while being quarantined.  The introvert in me enjoys being told to stay inside, although I will admit, this length of time has been a bit confining.  What about you?  Hard stuff for sure.  Anyway, I'm always on the look out, whether physically shopping or online "researching", for the latest trends. I follow a lot of unique, style-setting leaders on instagram in all areas of designs, not just art.  As my new Columnist title states, I'm officially on the "trendsetter" trail.  From home decor to wedding florals, watercoloring to macrame, I try and open myself up to a bit of each. It is often reflected in my art and sometimes, not so much, but it never goes away void.   Having four grown daughters who continually keep me updated is definitely a perk.   What I have observed is that much of what is being created today is very organic, simple and geometric in design.  When I decided to make these earrings I kept those ideas in mind and lucky for me, my girls loved them!  Though these may not be your look, it is starting place and yet another idea for ways to extend the use of your stencils.   

 It doesn't take a lot of supplies to create these. I bought a package of leather pieces. You can get them from a leather supplier or even at your local hobby store. Although I recommend using leather paint (very reasonably priced btw) on leather for pliability, these earrings are not being used as clothing so chalk paint or acrylic paint will work fine too. Grab some thin permanent pens for mark making. I got a 24 kt. gold metallic pen too. I would seal it all with a leather sealer when finished.

 This little punch tool is a gem.  You can purchase it online. It has an interchangeable tip for different sizes of holes. It's called a Hole Punch Drill.  It slices through leather like butter, perfect for earring making.

As for the circles, you can get some specialty leather scissors and cut your own shapes or you can use steel rule die-cuts, which is what I used here.  I did see some plain shapes, pre-cut at a popular craft store in the jewelry-making section, so there's that. :) Also, you will need whatever earring base you like, studs or hoops, and if choosing the latter,  jump rings and a jump ring tool. 

And lastly, don't forget your favorite stencils.  Although all will work, I found the ones with smaller details were the best.  I used Mary C. Nasser's Mixup stencil, Mary Beth Shaw's ATC Mixup #1 and Seth Apter's Mixup #2.  Most of the Mixups are perfect! 

 I traced some of the images onto the leather first but feel free to start stenciling anyway you want once you have painted your base.  Tip: The paint dries very fast on leather.

Here you can see where I used Mary C. Nasser's stencil. I traced the design then painted in the image. 

And here is how my earrings shaped up.    

Love this color combo.  Totally in.  I used Seth's stencil here. 

Although I didn't do it on these, you can add additional pieces of embellished leather onto your earrings to  make a layering of sorts.  Love that tulip flower on Mary Beth's stencil. 

Of course, you can make a necklace instead of earrings or you can create an entire collection.  It's all up to you.  Feel free to add more and layer it up like you do with any mixed media piece. I cannot wait to see what you create! 

Happy you stopped by.  Hoping you learned something new.  

XO,

Debi Adams

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Cat Kerr: StencilGirl® Products & Leather!

Hi, everyone! Cat Kerr here! Glad to be back to share another tutorial!

I've been obsessed with leather lately. I've been working on wallets and book covers and even jewelry. I've been cutting and shaping and stitching and dying it. I've also been painting it, which is what originally led me to start thinking of leather as not only a workable material which can be cut, stitched and dyed but also as a possible substrate that can be embossed, stamped, and you guessed it...stenciled. 

Today I'm making a simple leather cuff, but honestly, there's nothing simple about it. What I mean is that my video shows you how to add design to leather using one application, but there is so much more design possibility here. The cuff part will always be created the same way and with StencilGirl® Products’ store full of amazing stencils to choose from, well... there's no limit to the design opportunity! Plus, keep in mind that leather paint works almost the same way as acrylic paint (it doesn't crack when you bend it, which is great for cuffs). That means you can end up creating a work of art...for your wrist. How cool is that!

Material list:

Veg Tan leather 3-4 oz. Weaver.com

Blade Awl

Metal Ruler

StencilGirl® Products Stencils

StazOn Pigment

Sandpaper

Snap Closure and setter

Hole Punch

Leather Dye

Turquoise Leather Paint

Leather Sealer

Wood Burnisher

Painted Leather Cuff with StencilGirl® Stencils

Hi, everyone! Kimberly Baxter Packwood here to show you how to create a painted leather cuff with StencilGirl® Products!

Here are the supplies you'll need:

Leather cuff blank 3” wide

Acrylic paints

Paint Brush

StencilGirl® Products Stencils

Sponges or an old rag for distressing the paint

Water for rinsing brushes

Pen or Pencil or a fine tipped marker in a color similar to your color palette

Sand paper for distressing paint and leather

Sealer: Top Kote, Tan Kote, or Super Sheen

***Markers or pens for adding details if desired.

Snaps and a snap setting tool if your cuff didn’t come with any, and a snap setting tool.

NOTE: If you buy a cuff blank that has already been dyed, you will want to distress the surface with sand paper so that your paint will adhere to the leather surface.

Lay your cuff out flat on your work table, you may find using double stick tape to get it to lay flat to be helpful.

Apply your top coat of paint, I went with a medium value turquoise color and then added in three other values of turquoise, both blue based and green based along with ivory and a maize color for the cuff base, and plum and black for the crow.

I painted both sides of the cuff along with the edges.
Allow paint to dry completely between layers of paint.

NOTE: If your cuff has a snap already attached you can cover it up with painters tape, unless you want it to be painted as well.

After allowing the paint to dry, I used my lightest value turquoise paint and my Black Birds in Tree stencil to apply the initial layer of birds.

I used the corner of a paper towel to remove any raised paint areas from the leather, you could also sand those back once this layer of paint has dried.

Once that layer of birds had dried I took the next darker value of turquoise paint and using the same stencil I applied the next layer of birds, shifting the stencil so it angled a little bit to give the cuff added interest. And allowed that layer of paint to completely dry.

While the paint was drying I experimented on some scrap pieces of leather to see which distressing techniques I wanted to use for this cuff. I decided to use an ivory and a maize yellow chalkboard paint to create the distressed layer.

To distress the previous layers take some ivory maize colored chalk board paints and blend together, yielding a very pale yellow color. Apply in large strokes in a couple of places across the face of the cuff and then immediately remove most of it using a damp paper towel or shop rag.

I placed my stencil onto the cuff to see where I wanted the crow to be placed once I found a spot that I liked I used a pencil and lightly drew the crow onto the cuff.

Place the larger crow stencil back onto your cuff and lightly stencil the crow, I did several layers and finished the crow using a fine round brush.

After the crow design paint dried I applied more paint to the crow using a small paint brush to even the look out.

Once the paint is dry and you’re satisfied with the final design seal the paint using a leather sealer such as Tan Coat, or one of the ones listed above in the materials list.

It takes about 12 to 24 hours for the sealer to completely dry, once dry add any hardware you want to your cuff. Once the sealer has dried you can use a soft cloth like tee shirt material, to buff the sealer and improve the sheen of the final coat.

If  you want to add more paint after you’ve sealed to cuff just add it on top of the sealer and when that paint is has thoroughly dried add another layer of sealer.

StencilCub Voices Transform the Ordinary into Extraordinary with Mary Beth & Seth's Mash Up Set!

You are here for 4 inspirational projects as StencilClub Voices are stenciling on shoeboxes, within art journals, on leather covers, and painting a face.

Cynthia White's Beautiful Journal Cover

Cynthia says, "I am a journalist and love leather! I stepped out of my comfort zone and made my first leather A5 TN and used stencil girl stencils to decorate the cover. I wanted the colors to match my pen."

Wendy Featherstone used the Mash Up! Set to 

Create a Multi-Layered Background 

Wendy says, "I'm so excited that I got to work with these awesome stencils, the possibilities are endless!" 

She first started playing with them using coffee filters, just adding layers. 

Then, she chose 3 colors that she had close by and some white and put some color down, after that...the fun began. SHe used the stencils to create a colorful and textured background. 

Then she wanted to bring in the coffee filters, so she chose one, ripped it up and added it randomly to her piece. 

Stenciling with Pam Carrier's Create Face Stencil came next because, Wendy says, "I love her eyes. I added a few more layers, some journaling, and doodles. I love how she turned out! 

"These stencils are great for adding textures, depth, and dimension. Whatever you make with them, they will provide lots of possibilities 😊"

Linda Edkins Wyatt's Shoebox Transformation

Linda used the January 2019 StencilClub Mash Up designs, created by Seth Apter and MaryBeth Shaw, some painted grunge technique, and a little Baked Texture embossing powder, to transform an ordinary shoebox into a unique storage solution.

Take a look at her Mixed Media and Fiber Art blog where she shares the creation process.

Carol Baxter's Purple and Yellow Art Journal Spread

I enjoyed the layering opportunities the Shaw Apter Mash-Up set offered. 

The bottom layer is a dusting of blue and purple inks, while the building portion of the small stencil and the numbers portion of the large stencil from the spine and the page in Cheesecake Yellow (Paper Artsy paint) make up the third layer. 

Ephemera papers and fabric cut into shapes, plus a ticket and a couple of flowers glued down became the fourth layer.

The drips and crossed organic dots were stenciled with Sour Grapes, Moonlight and Magenta mixed with Moonlight and I went back to Cheesecake for the hash marks. 


The writing came last in purple and green pen. That's my name at the bottom written to look like grass.

Like what we did with the first ever StencilGirl StencilClub Mash Up? Want to make art with these stencils?

You can enjoy these exclusive stencils plus technique guidance from the designers, Mary Beth Shaw and Seth Apter when you join StencilClub by January 15th, 2019.