Though I have been very quiet on the forums, I have been greatly enjoying my Glowforge. So, when it came time to replace my old, poor, literally falling apart wallet, my wife suggested that I theme it after my favorite Marvel character, Spider-Man. (My old wallet was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. themed, and I always received lots of compliments, so I couldn’t go back to a plain old, no theme wallet anymore. Enter the Glowforge!) We had an unused wallet kit from the infamous Tandy Leathers that only required an outer shell, and we had some leather that was ready to go. Now for design time!
The really awesome thing about lasering leather (that I hoped would work, and it actually did!), is that you can paint the leather with dyes without it bleeding in tight areas.
(Notice how the red and blue didn’t bleed in the above image… except where my paint brush slipped a bit…)
A bit of acrylic gold paint (I know, I know, I praised using dye and then used paint… but there wasn’t any gold dye!) and viola!
Warning to veteran leather workers: Avert thine gaze, for I mixed brands and bases of leather dye!
I used Eco-flo’s Scarlet Red and Cova Color Gold, and Fiebling’s Navy Blue and Black. (Black on the edges, to match interior).
Edit: Forgot to mention, it is a good idea to use red dye behind the gold Cova Color. It will be slightly translucent in spots, and the red will help it look a bit more correct. (Painting red before gold is apparently a prop Maker’s trick to make gold paint appear more accurate, and I would highly recommend it on leather work too. I originally tried without it and the red flowed a bit with the sheen coat into the gold, and it looked sooooo much better!)
Great job! I too have been not active in the forums with things but have been enjoying my Pro since mid June and I couldn’t be happier. I have been looking at all of the wonderful ideas and helpful tips that are here and have been enjoying the comradery of all of the Glowforge owners and count myself blessed to be amongst everyone. Great to meet everyone!
Wow, I work in leather, and am waiting for my GF delivery. It’s amazing to know about dye not bleeding into other areas, that opens up a world of colorful designs that would not have been possible
That is pretty awesome. I would LOVE to see someone do wallet tutorial for those of us who have never worked with leather. Any chance you would do one with a step by step guide and links for where to get stuff? I’d love to make my husband a thin blue line one.
