Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Awesome Passport Wallet Part II: Decorating

Okay, I took pics this time.

1. First I decided what theme I wanted. I chose India...duh! I looked on the internet, and chose an image I liked. I actually had one in mind, as I knew I wanted an elephant, and I'd researched that before when I designed my tattoo (top). I found the one I wanted (bottom), printed it, and cut it out.


2. Then, I made a bunch of copies so that I could experiment (and just in case I needed them.)


3. First I cut out the "flower/sun" shape.


4. I lay down some yellow tape. I stuck it onto a binder with a plastic covering (one I didn't care about preserving)

5. I traced around the paper with a dry-erase marker, and removed the paper. Then I cut around the shape with an x-acto knife.


6.  I peeled the outside tape away, and voila!

7. I gently pulled the tape from the binder, and positioned it on the back side of my wallet.

8. Next came the circle. I did it in green.

9. When I cut the circle, the whole plastic piece came with it, and I had to gently pry it apart, and place  the circle of green tape on top of the sun/flower.

10. Next was the elephant's head. This was the toughest piece, but I just did the same thing as before: cut out the paper, lay down the (blue) tape, traced, cut, pulled (gently!) and placed. I did a little patching on the bottom to make sure it looked okay.

11. The last bits: the ear, the eye, the triangle (of purple) came last. I just cut these pretty much freehand to save time.

12. I stuck all the bits onto the back of the wallet.
(I tried to get this pic turned right-side up. I could do it in i-photo, but it wouldn't upload that way!)



13. Last, I used a Sharpie to add decorative details. I think it turned out nice. :)

After this, I realized that the whole thing was on upside down. The great thing about duct tape on duct tape is: unless the sticky sides are together, it's easy to peel it off and reposition it!

14. On the other side, at the top flap, I sewed a metal Namaste which I bought in the bead/jewelry making section at Michael's.  Namaste is a common greeting in India. It indicates that your spirit recognizes and acknowledges the other person's spirit. It comes from the ancient language Sanskrit, and although it's a Hindi word, most Indians recognize and use it in greeting.


My wallet is done! Now to other projects!

Until then, be good!

2 comments:

  1. Thank you, Jason. You'd be amazed at the colors duct tape comes in these days!

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