DIY Holographic Iron-on Leather Bookmark Using Cricut

Hey there! Are you a book lover looking for a fun and easy project? Look no further! Today's project is a holographic iron-on leather bookmark using Cricut. It's perfect for any book lover or as a gift for one. This is a great way to get started with Cricut Leather and it's one of our absolute favorites. In this post, we'll guide you through the steps to make this bookmark, and also share some top tools for working with Cricut leather.

Materials:

• Cricut Maker or Explore
• Cricut Metallic Leather
• Knife Blade or Deep Point Blade
• Holographic Iron-On Vinyl
• StrongGrip Mat
• StandardGrip Mat
• Cricut EasyPress
• EasyPress Mat (or a towel)
• Masking Tape (Optional)
• Brayer Tool or XL Scraper (Optional)

Download the free design files to create this project here.

Directions:

First up, we are going to apply the metallic leather to a StrongGrip cuttng mat. Make sure that it's stuck on well by pushing down with a scraper tool or rolling over it with a brayer tool.

We like to apply masking tape to the sides of the leather to help prevent it from moving while it's cutting. However, if your mat is pretty new, you may be able to skip this step. Then push your star wheels all the way to the right and get cutting! Then insert either the Knife Blade or Deep Point Blade and move the star wheels all the way to the right.

Once that's finished cutting, then we are going to cut the iron-on. For this project, we used Holographic Iron-On. If you haven't used this material before, we highly recommend it! It slightly shimmers when you move it; it's definitely a favorite here at Craft-eCorner! You'll need to apply the iron-on face down onto the StandardGrip cutting mat and mirror your image in Design Space. Then use a scraper tool to apply well and push out any air bubbles. When that's finished cutting, weed the iron-on.

Next up, we will start the heat transfer process. Preheat your EasyPress to 285F and set the timer for 30 seconds. Then place the leather on an EasyPress Mat or a towel and preheat the leather for five seconds with the EasyPress. Once it's finished preheating, place the design face down, liner side up. Then apply the EasyPress with light pressure at 285F for 30 seconds. When it's finished, carefully remove the EasyPress. Then flip the leather and heat the back for 15 seconds. Lastly, let the iron-on cool for 30 seconds before slowly removing the liner. You should be able to remove the carrier sheet with ease - if you can't, reapply the EasyPress for another 15- 20 seconds.

The last step is to loop some twine, ribbon or string through the hole. You can jazz this up however you want! These bookmarks make great gifts for the book lover in your life.

Learn More:

Top Tools for Working with Cricut Leather

Mats

Depending on what kind of leather you're cutting, you'll most likely need the StandardGrip Mat and the StrongGrip Mat. These mats come in two sizes: 12x12" and 12x24". The StandardGrip Mat is used for Faux Pebbled Leather. The StrongGrip Mat is used for Genuine and Metallic Leather. We always stay stocked up on these mats because you can use them for all kinds of materials.

Blades

Typically, for the Explore family machines, you'll need the Fine-Point Blade and the Deep Point Blade. For the Cricut Maker, you can use these blades but you can also use the Knife Blade as well.

Brayer

The Brayer Tool is one of our favorites for applying leather to a mat. It is a soft rubber roller that pushes the leather into the mat. The last thing you want when cutting leather is for your material to move during the cut - it will ruin your cut! The Brayer Tool is the best tool we've found for making sure that doesn't happen. You can also use the tweezers to help remove the leather from the mat.

Scraper

The scraper tool is a popular tool for Cricut crafting. There are two different sizes available: the standard scraper and an XL scraper (pictured here). When you're applying leather to a mat, this may be a helpful tool for you in getting it to stick well. It's also helpful to scrape any excess leather off the mat when you are finished to keep your mat clean.

Tape

We typically like to apply tape to the sides of our leather after it's placed on the mats. This is especially helpful if your mat is losing its stickiness. You can use either masking tape or packing tape and it will help your material to stay adhered to the mat. You do not want your material to move when it's cutting otherwise you will risk ruining your material and your mat.

TrueControl Knife

Sometimes you may need to help your leather projects out a little bit. Occasionally, you may need to cut a little further when you remove your project from the mat. Or you may find "fuzzies" hanging from the leather that you want removed. We love using the TrueControl Knife from Cricut but you could also use scissors for this.

Do More:

Love books as much as we do? Enjoy these other book lover projects created by our design team on our blog. And happy making!

Books Tote Bag

Leather Reading List Journal

Reading Mug