Back when I used to work for Blick Art Materials, I would get tapped to try new products. Even though I mainly produced catalog, ad, and email designs, once in a while they needed to feature something new for photography or social media. These Angelus Leather Dyes are so fun (and messy) to play with. I scored this little plain white leather purse from a local thrift store for a few dollars.
I picked a design that would be striking with high contrast, but also that would only use maybe 2 or 3 colors. I drew out the design with a light colored pencil or skinny marker. It was going to get covered up so it didn’t need to be very dark.
Do as I say, don’t do as I do, ha ha! I highly recommend putting plastic a sheet down on your work surface. Wear an apron and gloves—this stuff stains! It’s designed to dye animal skin (use real leather not pleather) so it will stain your skin for some time. It works a lot like ink or watercolor. It can be diluted with the neutral clear color they sell in the shop. This stuff will not wash off, crack, or peel—it’s a stain. I recommend getting some leather scraps to practice on.
Here’s the finished product! I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I look forward to experimenting further with the Angelus dyes. So many colors, so many possibilities. I only used the purple and red colors on this particular purse.