
Dad will love these Leather Gift Tags
Looking for a homemade with love gift for your Dad or Hubby? How about this quick and easy Leather gift tag idea to go with the Dry Rub Recipe especially if he loves to grill. Even if you are looking for a new dry rib rub, this is a great pleasing tasty combination of seasonings ready to spoil your palette.
I will even show you how to make the leather gift tags in this blog post with a free Cricut Design Space File!
It took me years to perfect this dry rib rub to our family’s liking. One reason I know you will be pleased is when we grill our ribs everyone wants this recipe! There’s your sign! LOL
Easy way to adapt a recipe to please your family
Let’s face it, not everybody likes the same things. Kinda like heat, some like it hot, some like it mild. I am referring to food although the same apply’s to weather. Ha! You get the drill.
My Mom had a great idea for our family growing up. Let’s say you come across a recipe to try. The first time you cook as directed. Then during dinner (Yes we all ate dinner at the table and at the same time) ◄ Feeling blessed I was raised this way ♥ you all vote on the meal such as: Yes we really love this. Or we really liked it if it had more garlic or less heat etc. We even had those uh No never again moments LOL My Mom would note this on the recipe for future reference. Great system!
Sharing my two adapted Rub Recipes
Best Pork Rib Rub
This recipe was adapted from the Memphis Rub Style Recipes
Memphis Style Rub
Ingredients
- 6 T Brown Sugar
- 6 T White Granulated Sugar
- 4 T Smoked Paprika
- 1 T Kosher Salt
- 3 T Garlic Powder
- 1 T Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 T Ginger Powder
- 1 T Onion Powder
- 1 T Rosemary Powder
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and store in air tight container.
How to make and store the Best Rib Rub
I like to make big batches of the rib rub and store in air tight containers. That way when your ready to rub, well it’s right there ready for you! You could also store in a canning jar, which makes a nice gift presentation as well. All you do is add all ingredients into a bowl and mash any bumps out with a fork and add to air tight container. Bam! Done! Look below this recipe to see how I made the gift tags.
Best Tri-Tip or Brisket Rub
This recipe was adapted from the Santa Maria Style Rubs
Yes we are in California and call it Tri-Tip. You may call the very same cut of meat Brisket. (The Cricut DS File I’ve included both tags for Tri Tip and Brisket) It is ALL Good! 😊
Santa Maria Rub
Ingredients
- 1/8 C Smoked Paprika
- 1 T Ancho or New Mexico Hatch Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 T Cumin
- 1 T Brown Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp White Granulated Sugar
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt We omit the salt for low sodium.
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients and store in air tight container.
How to make the Leather gift tags
I have a free file for you if you use a Cricut Cutting machine. Are they not the best! I love both of my Cricuts. They really come in handy for quick projects like these leather gift tags.
Where do I find my Leather Scraps?
Boy am I in love with leather scraps! There are so many uses and you can get a grab bag of sorts of leather scraps. It’s very economical, comes with a super nice variety/selection. Awesome source for crafting, card making, leather earrings, anything small that utilizes leather. I get my leather scraps here and will continue to do so. (This is not an affiliate link, just sharing the love of a fantastic business) They provide great service, great prices & great selections. Why buy a big piece of leather when you plan on making smaller projects and you sure can’t beat the variety.
Leather scraps I have left….
I’m telling you! Best deals to get scrap leathers and they have oil tanned cow hides, cow hide scrap with hair on for crafts, even shimmer and shine leather scraps!

OK! Let’s make these awesome tags
Supplies needed
- Cricut cutting machine (Explore Air 2 or Cricut Maker)
- Cricut deep point blade
- Strong grip mat
- Vinyl in black and red
- Transfer tape
- Leather
- Canning jars or any jars of your choice
- Fishing swivels to attach to leather or you can use twine!
- My free Cricut DS file for this project (All of my free files are in my resource library on my blog). My resource library is password protected. To get your free password & file, sign up to my newsletter at bottom of this post or any page, enter your first name, and your email address to gain access. I will be updating these files weekly.
- You can also use this file with paper for other projects too!
Steps
- Gather the free file I’ve provided


Let’s say you only want to cut the leather gift tag for Pork Rub, the screenshot below shows where to click to turn off the group layer for the TRI Tip file.

So to turn off ANY group layer in Cricut DS just select the file on the left, then on the right side where you see the highlighted area click on the eye icon to turn off only that layer. If you change your mind just click on the eye icon again and it will display with your other files.
The first picture shows the selected Tri Tip group

The second picture shows after I clicked on the eye icon for Tri Tip group

I added the BRISKET file shown below

Step 2: Gather leathers or twines

Step 3: Follow DS prompts to load files with the materials you chose.
Pro Tip: I have figured out a better way to apply the leather to your Cricut Mat prior to cutting the leather.
BEFORE placing your leather on the mat, put a piece of any Transfer tape about the same size as the leather you will be placing on your mat. Place the transfer tape so the sticky side faces up.
What this will do is allow you to place your leather onto the transfer tape and avoid all the leather dust/powder/mess you see in the picture below.
This will also extend the life of your mat. This tip has been huge when I cut the leather as I believe it’s saved my mats multiple times.
Not all leathers are created equal, some you will not need the transfer tape tip.
Hope this bonus tip helps! 💜


Step 4: Assemble the project as shown in the pictures by adding fishing swivels to the leather tags and then attaching them to the leather cording or twine if you desire. Then tie the cording or twine to the lid of the jar. This way everything is washable by just untying the cording or twine.
Makes a great fast and easy gift for anyone! Anytime!
Just think of the ways you can personalize these leather gift tags by just switching out materials and using different colors and textures etc. Have Fun and Create with Love!
Pin this project on your Pinterest board if want to save it for later use!
Looking for more gift ideas for Men? Click here.


I look forward to all your comments!♥!