Father's Day DIY: Embossed Leather Luggage Tag & Tie Clip

A leather luggage tag is for people who have their travel act together. It also looksway better than paper tags. Our kit has everything you need to make an embossed leather luggage tag, and there are also materials to create a monogrammed leather tie clip. Makes a great birthday or Father’s Day gift.

The kit includes a letter- and number-punch set, two pieces of Tandy cowhide leather (for the tag and tie clip), 18-inch suede string, and two tie clips. Follow our DIY tutorial to find out how to create your luggage tag and tie clip.

Step 1: What You'll Need:

Embossed Leather Tag Kit

Pencil

Paper

Low-tack painter’s tape

Wooden block or ruler

Hammer or mallet

Cutting board

X-ACTO knife

Step 2:

Leather is more receptive to being stamped when it’s damp. Dip your leather pieces into a bowl of water. They don’t need to soak, just dampen them.

Step 3:

Let the leather dry. It’s ready to use when it has almost returned to the color of dried leathe

Step 4:

Try a few mock-up drawings before you start. You can use an X-ACTO knife to trim the shape of your luggage tag before you start.

Step 5:

I found if difficult to eyeball the layout because it’s very easy for a few letters to be crooked and make the whole piece look wonky. So I used low-tack masking tape for my lines. (Tip: If you use a high-tack tape, it can tear at the fibers of the leather when you remove it. You can usually combat this by not pressing the tape down too hard, or use a bit of water on your finger to massage away the unwanted texture on the leather.)

Hold your ruler or wooden block on the tape line and put your letter punch up against the flat surface to ensure straight, properly lined-up lettering.

Step 6:

It’s hammer time. Do your hammering on a steady surface. You don’t need to use that much force — one sharp tap, straight down on the top of the letter punch should suffice. If you didn’t apply enough pressure, you can carefully realign the stamp and do it again.