How to do prints on leather using stencils + DIY Zipper pouch

Well, I am finally back from vacation and trying hard to be back on routine.I feel tired all the time due to jet lag and I think it will take at least few days to get back to the normal routine.I made this zipper pouch before going to vacation and I did not really get time to post this during vacation.So, posting it now.

If you are a regular follower, you might know I got a electronic die cutting machine. I wanted to try cutting designs on leather using the newly released deep cut blade. But I had no luck as the leather was very soft and the blade gets stuck in the leather and started to tear it. I think I have to try ironing the back of the leather with some stabilizer before cutting. For now, I decided to cut a stencil and try to make prints on leather using the stencils. Let's see how.

Materials Required:

Ready made adhesive stencil or stencil material to make your on stencil(I used silhouette brand stencil material)
Leather (I used genuine leather from Michaels)
Multi surface paint in desired colors (I used Martha stewart Multi surface paints)
Foam pouncers
Die cutting machine or craft knife if you are making your own stencil

For Zipper Pouch:

9" Zipper
Leather
Lining material
Matching sewing thread
Fabric scissors
Measuring tape
Specialty needle to sew leather

Step 1: If you making your own stencil like me, take the stencil material and load it into your cutting machine(In my case, it is silhouette machine).Use the software to send the cutting file to the machine. I used a free PNG dahlia image and traced to use as an image for cutting stencil.Once the design is cut, weed the design to use it as stencil.

If you are using a ready-made adhesive stencil, proceed to step 2.

This is the settings I used to cut the stencil in my silhouette

 Step 2: Once your stencil is ready, remove the backing so that the stencil become adhesive and place it on the leather. Use a foam pouncer to apply paint.Don't load too much paint on to the foam pouncers as it may result in the bleeding of paint into unwanted areas.Wash the stencil before using next color.
I accidentally placed the stencil to paint gold paint before the black paint dried.So some paint came off while I tried to peel the stencil. If this happens to you, use a paint brush to retouch the area. And also it is better to cut the stencil in such a way it doesn't overlap with the already painted design.
Also if you get paint in any unwanted area, use an old tooth brush and water to lightly scrub that area to remove the paint. Don't try anything like rubbing alcohol or so to remove the paint, just the plain water does the trick.Believe me!
Allow the paint to dry and your beautiful dahlia printed leather is ready to use.

Step 3: Now it is time to make the zipper pouch. To make this pouch, you will need a outer fabric and a lining. Here, I used outer fabric as leather and lining as solid black cotton.Cut the leather into half to make it as two piece for each side . Measure and cut the lining in the same length and width. Attach one piece of leather to one side of the zipper as shown below. Repeat the same with other piece on the other side of the zipper.

Step 4: In the same way as you did with the leather, repeat the same with the lining.(I tried to make card sleeves in the lining but I made a mistake so it did not work out. So just ignore the card sleeves part and follow instructions for the simple zipper tutorial.)

Now you can see zipper sandwiched between leather and the lining.Make a top stitch on the leather near the zipper on both sides as shown below. 

Step 5: Combine the leather pieces on to one side and lining on to the other side.Make sure the zipper opening is facing in the right direction. Make a stitch on the corners with 1/4"inch seam allowance leaving around 2" inch gap in the lining to turn the pouch inside out.

Turn the pouch inside out and stitch the gap.Stuff your lining inside and your zipper pouch is now ready. Isn't gorgeous?

Hope you enjoyed this simple and gorgeous leather zipper pouch tutorial.I did take this purse with me      to India for vacation to put it to test.The paint in the purse holds strong and looks new till today.So I hope you will try this simple leather zipper pouch. You can also use printed silk or printed cotton lining instead of solid cotton to take this leather pouch to next level. Next time when you want to make someone a special handmade gift this would be a perfect idea to put together in minutes.

Share what you think in the comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you.