This project was initially intended to be part of a collection of 3 Christmas decorations patterns. However one of the projects – my favourite of the three – turned out to be very difficult to assemble. I have designed this bauble as a challenge to myself and I really like the result. I reminds me of a sort of steam-punk aesthetic and I very much enjoy the non-conventional construction method.
That being said, I am not in the business of selling frustrating projects to my customers – at least I hope that I am not! And after some feedback it turns out that I might be in the minority thinking that the result is aesthetically pleasing. Thus I decided to offer this pattern for free.
Behold the Puzzle Bauble! A project intended for the valiant (and very patient) crafter!
Print out the pattern. Make sure that the document is not resized by checking your print settings. You can check if it was printed properly by measuring the reference found at the bottom of each page.
Punching the holes
Use your hole punches to punch out all the holes of the project.
You’ll notice in the photo that I also punched holes along the curved outlines of the pieces. This makes cutting those edges much easier.
Cutting out the pieces of the project
Using your X-Acto knife, cut out all the pieces of the bauble.
A circle-cutter will be very useful to cut out the circles.
If you have a laser cutter…lucky you!
Painting the leather
I painted all the pieces using Angelus metallic leather paints. Half of them are painted with Bronze, the other half with Copper.
Assembly procedure
First screw the swivel rivet to the piece that has a 3mm hole in the center.
Here is how the pieces interlock for the top half of the bauble. The piece with the swivel rivet sits at the top and is covered by the heart piece (the one with hooks, not the one with holes).
The assembly logic is consistent: the pieces from above have hooks and link into the surrounding pieces below, which end with holes.
Around the top are six groups of two overlapping pieces: three large pieces (one with a star cut-out beneath one with a hole cut-out) and three smaller overlapping pieces placed between them.
To interlock the pieces, first use pliers to bend the tips of the hooks.
Then insert each hook into its corresponding hole and bend it back to secure it.
To make this easier, you can use the tip of an edge slicker to gently widen the holes first.
First, connect all the corresponding pieces to the heart component. Then, position the piece with the swivel rivet beneath the heart and connect it to the next layer.
Working from the inside out, as shown in the second photo, makes the process much easier.
The 12 side pieces must also be connected to each other, following the same logic as before: a piece on top connects to the surrounding pieces below, and vice versa.
Connect the next layer for the bottom half of the bauble. This layer is the opposite of the previous one: the large pieces from the top layer connect to a pair of small pieces from the bottom layer, and the small pieces from the top layer connect to a pair of large pieces from the bottom layer.
This is when your patience will be tested the most.
As you near the bottom, inserting and unfolding the hooks becomes more challenging. Use a small, flat tool (such as a flathead screwdriver) to push each hook into place and then unfold it.
Finally, connect the bottom two pieces – the remaining heart topped with a circle – to the surrounding structure.
Congratulations, you’ve made it!
Final result
I hope you enjoyed following along this tutorial. Please consider posting a photo of your creation in the comments below. It would mean a lot to me to see my little projects out into the world as you make it your own.
Any feedback/question about this tutorial or project idea that you’d like to see posted here is and always will be more than welcome.
Happy crafting!
Footnotes
The following online content provided some assistance and/or inspiration during the making of this project:
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Tutorial
The Puzzle Christmas Bauble
4 hours
Advanced
Common for leathercraft
This project was initially intended to be part of a collection of 3 Christmas decorations patterns. However one of the projects – my favourite of the three – turned out to be very difficult to assemble. I have designed this bauble as a challenge to myself and I really like the result. I reminds me of a sort of steam-punk aesthetic and I very much enjoy the non-conventional construction method.
That being said, I am not in the business of selling frustrating projects to my customers – at least I hope that I am not! And after some feedback it turns out that I might be in the minority thinking that the result is aesthetically pleasing. Thus I decided to offer this pattern for free.
Behold the Puzzle Bauble! A project intended for the valiant (and very patient) crafter!
Requirements
Skills
Tools
Bill of Materials
Pattern
Puzzle Christmas Bauble Pattern
Free!Walk-through
Printing out the pattern and securing it to the leather
You can get the pattern here if you haven’t already.
Print out the pattern. Make sure that the document is not resized by checking your print settings. You can check if it was printed properly by measuring the reference found at the bottom of each page.
Punching the holes
Use your hole punches to punch out all the holes of the project.
You’ll notice in the photo that I also punched holes along the curved outlines of the pieces. This makes cutting those edges much easier.
Cutting out the pieces of the project
Using your X-Acto knife, cut out all the pieces of the bauble.
A circle-cutter will be very useful to cut out the circles.
If you have a laser cutter…lucky you!
Painting the leather
I painted all the pieces using Angelus metallic leather paints. Half of them are painted with Bronze, the other half with Copper.
Assembly procedure
First screw the swivel rivet to the piece that has a 3mm hole in the center.
Here is how the pieces interlock for the top half of the bauble. The piece with the swivel rivet sits at the top and is covered by the heart piece (the one with hooks, not the one with holes).
The assembly logic is consistent: the pieces from above have hooks and link into the surrounding pieces below, which end with holes.
Around the top are six groups of two overlapping pieces: three large pieces (one with a star cut-out beneath one with a hole cut-out) and three smaller overlapping pieces placed between them.
To interlock the pieces, first use pliers to bend the tips of the hooks.
Then insert each hook into its corresponding hole and bend it back to secure it.
To make this easier, you can use the tip of an edge slicker to gently widen the holes first.
First, connect all the corresponding pieces to the heart component. Then, position the piece with the swivel rivet beneath the heart and connect it to the next layer.
Working from the inside out, as shown in the second photo, makes the process much easier.
The 12 side pieces must also be connected to each other, following the same logic as before: a piece on top connects to the surrounding pieces below, and vice versa.
Connect the next layer for the bottom half of the bauble. This layer is the opposite of the previous one: the large pieces from the top layer connect to a pair of small pieces from the bottom layer, and the small pieces from the top layer connect to a pair of large pieces from the bottom layer.
This is when your patience will be tested the most.
As you near the bottom, inserting and unfolding the hooks becomes more challenging. Use a small, flat tool (such as a flathead screwdriver) to push each hook into place and then unfold it.
Finally, connect the bottom two pieces – the remaining heart topped with a circle – to the surrounding structure.
Congratulations, you’ve made it!
Final result
I hope you enjoyed following along this tutorial. Please consider posting a photo of your creation in the comments below. It would mean a lot to me to see my little projects out into the world as you make it your own.
Any feedback/question about this tutorial or project idea that you’d like to see posted here is and always will be more than welcome.
Happy crafting!
Footnotes
The following online content provided some assistance and/or inspiration during the making of this project: