Carved Leather Bracelets - A Lil Blue Boo Tutorial

Create personalized hand-carved leather bracelets with meaningful messages. This tutorial shows you how to transform a simple leather cuff into two custom bracelets using carving tools and leather paint for a beautiful, distressed finish.

Shopping list:

• Leather Cuffs
• Angelus Leather Paint (in English Tan)
• Linoleum Cutting Tools
• Small Brush

Let's get started!

Father's Day is coming up so Boo and I made Mr. Lil Blue Boo this hand carved bracelet:

It says "Daddy I Love You" in Boo's handwriting:

Step 1: Cut the cuff in half

First I started with a basic leather cuff (from Dharma Trading, pre-cut with hardware already attached) and used a razor blade to cut it in half:

A cuff becomes 2 bracelets!

Step 2: Trim the edges

I used small detail scissors to trim the edges to make them symmetrical:

Ready to embellish:

Step 3: Write your message

Boo wrote her message to Daddy on the bracelet:

Step 4: Prepare your carving tools

Using a set of basic linoleum cutting tools.

Step 5: Carve the letters

...I carefully carved out the letters:

Step 6: Apply leather paint

Next I painted the bracelet with basic leather paint (in English Tan) making sure to get a lot of paint down into the carved letters:

Step 7: Create distressed finish

Next I wiped off the paint using a damp cloth so only a thin layer was on the leather.

I painted and wiped it off several times to achieve a distressed look. Then let it dry completely:

Boo couldn't keep this secret from Daddy and wanted to give him his bracelet immediately:

A perfect gift to Daddy from his little girl:

I made the "grateful" bracelet for myself:

What will you write on yours?