In this tutorial I’m going to explain how to create the Howling at the Moon drink coasters.  This is an easy, fun, beginner friendly project that you can do on leather or wood.  I did four slightly different designs with the same theme.  With each design I changed how dark I burned the wolf.  This was done to experiment around with tonal values.  You can pick the tonal value combination you like, and use that on your coasters.  Plus, it’s your choice on whether or not you want to use the same design on your coasters.   

Click on the image to the left to watch a YouTube video version of the tutorial. 

Now, let’s get to work.

SKILL LEVEL: 1

MATERIALS NEEDED:  

• Writing tip
• Shading tip
• 4 x 4 inch (10.2 x 10.2 cm) piece of leather or wood
• Pattern (shrink or enlarge as needed)  Moon Coasters pattern
• Cork (optional)

Only burn on vegetable tanned leather.  This is also called veg-tan. 

I have a YouTube tutorial video that discusses some basics of pyrography on leather.  Click on the image to the left to watch it.

SUPPLIES

Weaver Leather Supply sells sets of 10 pre-cut veg-tanned leather coasters in either square or circular format.  Here’s a link:  Unfinished Leather Coasters

I put a cork backer on my coasters, but this is not absolutely necessary.   Amazon sells 12 x 12 inch (30.5 x 30.5 cm) sheets of cork, and 1 sheet would be more than enough for this project.  Unfortunately, the smallest quantity available was a set of 4. Here’s a link to some cork sheets on Amazon:  Cork sheets  

On the background I used Black waterstain by Eco-Flo which is made by Tandy Leather.

Eco-Flo waterstain

I mixed that black with canyon tan dye by Eco-Flo which is made by Tandy Leather.

Eco-Flo leather dye

Some of you might wonder what is the difference between a stain and a dye.  I have absolutely no idea.  I can do pyrography, but I’m a beginner in leather working. 

I used resolene as my base finish or sealant for the leather.  The link will take you to Tandy Leather, but it can be found on many sites including amazon.

Resolene neutral

 

I used snow-proof as my top coat the leather.  The link will take you to Tandy Leather, but it can be found on many sites including amazon.

Snow-proof

Another good top coat is Satin Shene by Eco-Flo which is made by Tandy Leather.   Satin Shene is very shiny compared to snow-proof.

Satin Shene

The last product I used was leather cement to bond the cork to the leather.  This particular type of glue is a water-based white glue.  My guess is that regular Elmer’s glue would work too, but I can’t promise that.  Remember I already admitted that I’m not a leather worker.

The link is to Amazon:   Leather Cement

STEP 1 – CUT

If you bought leather coaster blanks, then skip this step.   

The first thing we need to do is cut the coasters from the piece of leather.

As you can see, the leather is very thick.  I think it is 6-7 ounces in weight.  I doubt it needs to be this thick or heavy, but it was all I had on hand at the time.   The leather coaster blanks on Weaver Leather supply do not state what weight they are. 

Also, if you notice, you can see how rough the edges of my cut leather are.  You can slick the edges to make them much nicer.  When I did this project I didn’t know the proper way to do that, so I will direct you to a video by Weaver Leather supply.   

This video by Weaver Leather Supply makes a leather mouse pad; which is very similar to a coaster.  How to make the edges professional looking is explained very well in the video. 

Just click on the image to the left to watch the video.

I had to first square up my piece of leather, and cut it down into an 8” (20.3cm) square.

Then I divided the leather into 4” squares (10.2 cm). 

STEP 2 – PATTERN TRANSFER

The pattern has 4 different designs.  It is your choice if you want to create one of each or multiples of the same one.

Print the pattern on light-weight standard copier paper.  Then coat the printout with graphite.  I’m using a piece of compressed graphite.   I’m only coating along the edges of the wolf versus coating the entire wolf.  The reason is that I’m only tracing along the edges.

I drew lines on the pattern to help me align it where I wanted on the leather.  Feel free to alter the designs to your liking.  I wasn’t 100% sure which design I liked which is why I did several different versions of it.

Secured the pattern to the leather with a piece of first aide paper tape.  I like to use paper tape because it is a low tack adhesive, so is less likely to abrade the leather surface. 

Once the pattern is secured to the leather, then trace like normal.  Just use a very light hand pressure.

Before you remove the pattern, do a check for missing information.

Here’s how one of the squares of leather looked after I was done.  Now let me explain the white circle that is very easy to see on the leather.

I made the circle by drawing it directly onto the leather using a stencil. 

This was one of my first leather projects that wasn’t from a kit.  I didn’t know at that time that really sharp pencils will cut into the surface of the leather.    Now I now to place a piece of graphite coated paper under the stencil.  

I used the edge of a smooth plastic handle to rub over the line where it intersected on the wolf.  This reduced how noticeable the line was, but didn’t remove it completely.

As an FYI, this is another subject I touch upon on the pyrography on leather basics video I provided a link to near the beginning of this tutorial.

Here’s how all 4 of my coasters look at this point.

STEP 3 – WOLF

Let’s burn in the wolves.   

As I mentioned before, this was one of my first leather projects that wasn’t from a kit.  I bought some really inexpensive leather.  I didn’t know enough to be concerned.  Instead I was thrilled with the cheap deal.   

If you look at the wolf, you’ll notice a pale halo around the edges of the wolf.  I did this project over 2 years ago.  At the time, I didn’t know what this white stuff was.  Since then, I’ve done some research and I’m fairly sure it is fatty bloom or fatty spew.   It is a sign of poorly tanned leather. 

Now I know why I got such a deal on the leather.  

Begin by using a writer pen tip and burn along the trace lines. 

Keep a piece of scrap leather nearby to test out the heat of your pen tip on.

Use a light hand pressure.  Leather is soft, and the tips can sink deeply into the surface if you use a heavy hand pressure.  This is especially true with small pen tips like the micro writer I’m using.

Make sure to burn around the moon.  One benefit of the cut line around the moon, is that the pen tip follows along the groove of the cut line. 

This is probably the most precise circle I’ve ever burned. 🙂

After the trace lines are burn in, make sure to rub an eraser over the area to remove any residual graphite.

Use the shader of your choice and burn the wolf to a solid fairly uniform color.   

The pen tip I’m using is Colwood’s SRS tip.  It is one of the few they offer than comes pre-bent and polished.   I bought it to try it out.  I can tell that it glides easier across the surface much better than unpolished tips.     I don’t think that the cost is worth it for wood, but I do like it for leather.  

I switched to a different shader to see if I liked it better.  Keep in mind that any shader will work.   When I did this project I had just received a pen tip order, so I was having fun trying the new tips.   

This particular pen tip is the SHS tip, and it is another one that comes pre-bent and polished.

Make sure to rotate the leather as needed to keep the pen tip in optimal position when burning along the edges.

Finishing up the wolf.

STEP 4 – THE MOON

Now let’s take care of the moon.  I’m using the coaster with the largest moon on it, so it will be easier to see what I’m doing.

Use the shader of your choice and burn a loose, open circular motion over all of the moon.

The color shouldn’t be super dark.  Also, make sure you can see the underlying leather between the loops in the circular motion.

Switch to a writer pen tip and draw irregular shaped craters.  Vary the size, shape and placement of the craters.

Add a layer of tiny dots over the surface of the moon.

If you want to increase the complexity, then add more dots to create shadows. 

The yellow arrow is indicating the light direction.  

The blue marks are the shadows formed inside the crater. 

The orange marks are the shadows created on the back side of the crater.   

The darker the inside shadows are, the deeper the crater will seem.   The darker the back side shadows are, the taller the crater will seem.

You can also use a tight circular motion to create the shadows.   This means the loops of the circular motion are small, and there is little to no gaps visible.  

I also added a couple of really dark tiny dots here and there.

Here’s how it looked after I was done.

 

 

 

I thought that the dots were too dark, so I’m using the tip of an X-acto knife to remove a little of the color.

Here’s how it looked once I was done.

STEP 5 – BACKGROUND

I will be painting on the background.  In this photo I’m mixing a tan color with black and testing it out on scrap leather.  I want a dark color, but I don’t want it to be pitch black.

I’m using Canyon Tan leather dye by Eco-Flo.

For the black I’m using Waterstain by Eco-Flo. 

It is probably a no-no to mix a dye with a stain.  My attitude is that they are both made by the same company and they are water based, so it should work. 

This is my little test panel for the mixed color. 

The purple oblong is circling the straight black color.   

The yellow oblong is circling the canyon tan color straight out of the bottle. 

With both of them, the top patch of color is a single application.  The bottom has two applications of color.  This showed me that you can apply more color to get a darker version of the color. 

Along the top of the panel are the various colors I mixed up.

I brushed on the color, doing my best to keep it uniform.

I switched to a small brush for the detail areas around the wolf.

After a few minutes, the leather dye is supposed to be wiped or buffed to remove the excess.  I gently rubbed over the color with a clean paper towel.

I did use the straight black on one of the wolves to see how that would look.  I was pleasantly surprised that I had no problems applying it over burn marks.  

If you can’t tell, this project was one big experiment.  😊

I let the color sit overnight to make sure it was set or cured.  Not sure if it needed it, but I had other things to work on and wasn’t in a rush to get the coasters finished up.  

The next day I used the tip of a sharp night to scrape away some of the dye to form distant stars.

Here’s how it looks.  Not sure I like it.

STEP 6 – CORK

I cut 4 pieces of cork from one of the cork sheets.

The cork cuts rather easily.

I did test fit a piece of cork with a coaster to make sure the edged all matched.

Next, I coated the cork with a thick layer of leather cement.  My guess is that Elmer’s glue would also work.   Keep in mind that I’m not a leatherworker, so I’d recommend checking with the a leatherworker on this.

I brushed the glue around on the cork, making sure the edges were well coated.

Then I applied a light layer of glue on the back of the coaster.

After that I placed them together with the glued sides touching.  Make sure to press along the edges with considerable force.

Next use a piece of wood, a plate, or something flat that can be placed on top of the coaster.

Then place a weight on top of the wood and let sit for an hour or two.  For the weights you can use canned goods, a big bottle of water, etc.  We just need something to apply a little pressure and keep the wood in place.   

Now let the coaster sit for a couple of hours to make sure the glue sets up.

I checked the seal after a few hours, and it was perfect. 

In the photo I’m trying to pry the leather from the cork, but they were bonded tightly together.  

STEP 7 – SEALANT / FINISH

Here’s a test grid I did to try out different sealants or finishes.   I’m testing Resolene, Snow-proof, Satin Shene, and Leather Balm.

My very limited understanding is that resolene is a very good all-purpose finish.

 

 

 

Snow-proof is a top coat that is suppose to block moisture.

 

Satin Shene is a top coat that is supposed to be durable and water repellant.

Leather balm was something I bought to try after reading some article.  It was a waste of money for my purposes as it is not waterproof or water repellant.  I think it was suppose to soften or condition leather.   

I was watching some video and the guy made it sound like this stuff was awesome.   Probably in the right application is it, but this was not the right application.    Since I’m too new to leather working to know better, I bought some.   I will mention that leather balm was the smelliest of all of the finished I tested out!

Here’s finish test grid angled to catch the light.  Resolene has a little sheen to it.  The snow-proof is dull, the satin shene is rather glossy, and the leather balm is somewhere between the dull and glossy.

I made several test grids on different pieces of leather.  Then I subjected them to water and heat tests.  What worked well was using Resolene along with either Snow-proof or Satin Shene. 

I will be using the snow-proof because it isn’t as shiny.

Here’s a test grid on a different piece of leather.  The white ring that you see happened after the heat test. 

As I said before, from what I’ve read the ring is fatty bloom or fatty spew.  It is a sign of poorly cured or tanned leather.   

YouTuber LadyLynx said that you can use leather deglazer to try and remove the fatty spew.  I haven’t tried this.  I did some reading on leather deglazer and it is a product the removes finishes and some of the color if the leather is dyed or stained.    After reading up on the product, I would not recommend using a deglazer until all of your pyrography work is done.  Also it needs to be used in a very well ventilated area!

First, I applied resolene onto all of the coasters with a clean brush.  Then I let them dry for a couple of hours.

After the resolene was good and dry, then I applied the snow-proof with a soft cloth.

Here’s how it looked after I was done.

IN CONCLUSION

I hope you found this tutorial fun and easy to follow along with.   If you try it, I would love to know if you thought it warranted the beginner friendly rating I gave it.  Todd says that I’m a horrible judge of determining how difficult something is, so your feedback is how I learn.

Until the next blog,

Brenda

Feb 8, 2022

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