Leather-Look Home Accents

There's just something about leather that looks expensive and that won't change when you make fake leather home accents. Whether you make spheres, cones, cubes, or other pieces, you can easily craft them to look like they came from a high-end store. Common things you might have at home can make this craft fun and really easy to do.

Purchase the shape(s) you want from a craft store. There, you'll find Styrofoam shapes like cubes, cones, and balls - all in different sizes. Although they're lightweight and cheap, the finished craft will leave you with pieces that look substantial and costly.

It can be helpful to use a wooden skewer, chopstick, or small-diameter dowel, no matter what shape of Styrofoam you've chosen. Push the skewer through the Styrofoam and use it to hold the piece as you work. Pour some thick glue into a bowl, water it down a little, and you'll be ready to create the fake leather pieces.

Apply glue to the entire shape. Tear brown or tan construction paper into small squares and dip one in the glue. Wipe off the excess and stick it to the chosen shape, and smooth it in place. Continue doing this until you've covered the entire shape. After that, use a paintbrush to apply a thin layer of glue over the whole shape. Remove the skewer and put a square over each hole. Set the ball or other shape on a vase or glass to dry.

Before the ball or other shape is completely dry it can be helpful to roll or tap it on a hard surface to smooth it. You'll create the look of the leather when the glue has dried, and you apply a thick coat of shoe wax on it. Use a clean cloth to apply black or brown polish to the shape and, after the wax has time to set, buff it with a cloth.

Besides construction paper you can also use pieces of masking tape to cover the Styrofoam shape. And, besides giving the leather look to Styrofoam shapes, you can do it to lamps, picture or mirror frames, baseboards, cabinet doors, and much more. In fact, when you cover a large piece of cardboard with tape or construction paper, and polish it with shoe wax, you can even make a nice, leather-look headboard. Do it to a smaller piece of cardboard and you can make a fake leather tabletop. Have fun doing the technique to tin cans, cardboard boxes, and other things you have around the house. They're spectacular!