For the September 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living, I created four decorative and practical ideas using leather. September is traditionally the “Home and Decorating” issue. Leather makes a beautiful desk blotter. It is soft yet sturdy enough to take years of writing. It will age well, and if you don’t write much it makes a great mouse pad as well. You’ll notice a blotter I made in a simple river stone shape that I drew freehand on the back of the hide and cut out with a craft knife. I have one more blotter idea, which is a bit more formal. I referenced Art Deco borders for inspiration.

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1 First, make a craft paper template by following the instructions below the photo gallery.

2 Use this template to trace the design onto the back of a leather hide. Cut the blotter out using a craft ruler and a craft knife.

3 Turn the blotter over and with a silver paint pen mark a decorative border 1/2” in and all around the edge of the blotter. Do this slowly and be careful not to press the paint pen to hard or close to the ruler to prevent “bleeding.”

4 Allow the silver paint pen lines to dry.

Mark and cut a 27'' by 19" rectangle template out of craft paper. Then at each corner, mark and cut out the corner detail. The measurements from the longer edges for each corner are 1" down, over and down again.  Then add a 2" step before ending with another 1" step.  A see-through ruler is very helpful for marking these measurements with little fuss.

Tags: blotter, decorating, leather
Posted by Shane Powers on August 19, 2010 in Inspiration Board, Make It