Faux Leather From Craft Paper

Trunk lined with faux leather.

Left: craft paper
.Middle: crumpled and uncrumpled.
Right: after ironing.

Tutorial for making paper that looks like leather.

1. Take plain brown craft paper and crumple it up, and gently, without ripping it, uncrumple it. Do this about 8 or 10 times.

2. Iron the paper flat. This will soften the look of the wrinkles.

3.  Using mod podge glue the paper to the surface that you want to leatherize (yeah, it's a real word). Work in manageable sections. Use enough mod podge to securely glue down the paper. Work it for a while to get all the air bubbles out!

4. Paint the entire paper with a very dark brown color. Mix a minuscule amount of another color to your very dark brown to slightly change its shade and apply it to your paper in places to add some variation. Let dry.

5. Put a bit of light brown paint on your brush, and brush it on a piece of scrap to get the bristles almost dry, and lightly brush the color over the entire piece. (this is called drybrushing). Paint on the light color with the long side of the bristles not the tips, almost like you're laying the brush flat. If done right the light brown should only come off on the wrinkles of the paper. Let dry.

Finished Army Trunk Table

6. Seal with clear finish. (I use polycrilic with satin finish, but mod podge would also work well)