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!

My Awesome Passport Wallet

I just thought I would show you the awesome passport wallet I made. I'll also tell you how I made it.
I forgot to take pictures as I went (sorry) but I'll try to explain as best I can.  I'm also going to make some luggage tags for me, Raja, Monkey, and the Man Cub, so I'll post step by steps for that.

1. First, I chose the colors I wanted. Duck brand Duct tape comes in tons of bright colors. You can get it at Michaels or through the Duck Tape website. I chose bright, pretty colors: aqua blue, purple, neon green, yellow, and blue/purple tie-dye.

2. I drew my design out on graph paper to see what it might look like, and how it would go together. I drew out the pieces, cut them out, and made a practice wallet out of paper. Turns out it was way too small. I measured around my passport, my driver's license, etc. to see what size it needed to be. I drew the pieces out again, in the correct size, on graph paper. The new wallet is actually a bit big, but that's okay, because then I will be sure to have enough room for all of my documentation, plane tickets, etc.

3. I made my first sheet of duct tape. To do this, you cut a long piece of tape and place it, sticky side up on the table. Then you take another long strip and stick it, sticky side down, about halfway down, at the middle of the last strip. When you turn it over, there should now be about half a strip of sticky duct tape at the bottom. Rip another strip of duct tape, and place it slightly overlapping the first piece of duct tape, and covering the sticky side of the last piece, with about half the new piece exposed when you turn the tape over again. This site , which shows how to make a regular duct tape wallet, shows how to make the sheets. The sheets are everything. You will make several, and then tape them together to create the finished product.  Because I wanted a multi colored wallet, I made a sheet of tape that was purple on one side and aqua on the other, a sheet that was aqua on one side and tie-dye on the other, and a sheet that was yellow on one side and green on the other.  Using these three sheets, I created my entire wallet.

4. Once all the sheets were made, I cut a 13 1/2" x 4 3/4" piece of the purple/blue sheet.  I folded it over so there was an approx.  5 3/4" wallet with a  2 " flap on top.  I opened it up, and on the top half (from the bottom of the flap to the middle fold) I taped two "wings" (5 3/4" x 2 1/2") to the sides, using tape that matched the respective sides.

5. I then took a sheet of blue/tie-dye that was twice the width and the same length as the blue/purple sheet. I folded it over to make a pocket and taped it on 3 sides to the blue/purple sheet, creating two long pockets, one aqua, one tie-dye. I had to be careful when I taped it (with more aqua tape) as I had to tape part of it closed, and part of it to the bottom (or right hand, depending on how you're holding it) "wing" of the wallet.

6. Now came the tougher bits.  I took my driver's license and traced around it using a non-permanent marker on a sheet of yellow/green tape.  I drew a "frame" around it, and then cut out the frame.  (It looked like a rectangle with a smaller rectangle cut out of the middle.) On the back side I taped a rectangle of clear, stiff plastic I cut from the top of a greeting card box (although you could use a transparency sheet or even a page protector, any clear, sturdy plastic)  Then I taped the part I cut out to make the frame onto the back, just at the bottom, to hold my driver's license in place. I made sure I wiped off all the pen so it looked nice.

7. In addition, I cut some slightly smaller rectangles of yellow/green tape, and folded them into little "pockets " to hold credit cards, etc.  I folded one rectangle at a time,  always unevenly, to allow the card to peek out the top of the pocket and to allow each one to be seen. I taped these together on the back, and then attached them to the top/right hand side of the wallet with aqua duct tape. At the bottom I attached the I.D. holder, taping it on the sides, but leaving it loose at the bottom. Also, I had to be careful and remember not to tape the passport/money pockets together!

8. I made a little change purse out of the yellow/green tape sheet as well, and attached it to the bottom/left hand side of the wallet, using yellow tape to trim it/tape it on, and then edging it in blue again to match it and neathen the lines.

9. underneath the I.D. frame, I attached a loop made from purple/blue sheet (just to shake things up a bit.) I could put a pen in there (but I found the wallet doesn't really want to close, then) but I really added it so I could thread the cord through it and hang the wallet from my neck.

10. The last thing I did was add velcro "buttons." I put two on the flap of the change purse. Then I put one on the inner bottom corner of each of the "wings" to hold them in. I put one on the front top side of each of the wings so that the bottom of the wallet could fold up and attach. Last, I added three to the flap of the wallet so it can fold over and attach to the bottom flap that was just folded up.

It sounds really complicated, but since I made a paper model, it wasn't that bad. Here are some photos of the finished product. I think I am still going to add some decoration to the outside, but that will have to wait until later. I'm tired!

Here is what the wallet looks like, closed.

Here it is with the top velcro opened.

                                                          Here you can see the pockets.




And here is the finished product. TA-DAAAA!

I think it's pretty cool! What do you think?

Challenge: Make a duct tape project of your own. Make a wallet, passport cover, coin purse, or other item that will be useful on your trip!

See you soon! Until then, be good!