Christmas Wallet

Here's a fun folded paper wallet to make, in case you need a secret place to stash your Christmas money, Christmas list, or coupons.  It also holds credit cards or would make a nice holder for a gift card you are giving someone (put the card in one side and a note in the other side).

I first saw this several months ago, but looked up the instructions again to try it with gift wrap paper.  The two below are wrapping paper.  That paper is a little too thin and probably would not last too long under heavy use.  The directions call for a 12 x 12 inch piece of paper, and scrapbook paper is a good weight to use.

The ones below were made quite some time ago.  The one on the left is scrapbook paper (single sided), and it is always in my purse, unfolded, with that week's coupons that I cut out of the sale papers.  The folded one on the right is made with Arches text wove art paper which had been the victim of a previous stencil spray/walnut ink paint session.  It was very hard to fold such thick paper into the wallet, but it is definitely sturdy.  I think Tyvek would be a great paper to use, but I haven't tried it. None of these have embellishments or closures, but those would be fun to add too. 

There are probably several places with the instructions, but the one I used is from Paper Source.  (Click here for instructions.)  When trying the find the link again, I discovered a lot of projects on their blog and web page how-to links.  So many projects, so little time....

Happy wallet-making!

Mystery Object

In my last post, I swallowed my pride and showed you this Mystery Object.

Basically it's a plastic bag, a piece of folded cardboard, and some suede paper.  But I call it my camera pocket.  I know, I know... you can buy a perfectly nice camera Bag at any number of stores.  But when I first started carrying a camera with me everywhere, I learned quickly that a camera bag didn't work for me.  I wanted something that was easy in-easy out when I wanted to grab my camera with one hand.  I needed a pocket of some kind, one that I could put in my purse.  So I made one.  I folded cardboard into a U-shape to fit the size of my camera.  I used a sturdy cardboard because I sometimes forget I have a camera in my purse when I toss my purse onto the car seat or the kitchen counter.  I then cut a piece of suede paper to fit inside the U-shape - this is to protect the screen on the back of the camera from getting scratched.  The only purpose of the plastic bag was to hold everything in place, since the U-shape was open at the ends and would not hold its shape unless it was in the bag.  (I don't remember why I didn't just add some sides to hold it... maybe that would have made it too tight around the camera.)

Anyway, that contraption has been the home of my first camera, and also the second camera I now alternately use at times.  It's getting kinda ratty-looking and I decided to upgrade it.  I found the cutest little cases on Etsy made by a crafty person in Singapore, but they are for holding an iPhone and are not the "pocket" shape I like to use.  But I did make something similar, using felt to make the front of it mimic the front of a camera.

When I went to buy some felt, I discovered some embossed felt.  How long has that been around???  I had no idea!

This is what I ended up with. 

You can see the U-shape I'm talking about.  I was not going to add the suede inside, but the embossed felt was a little bit scratchy.  And I'll still have to put this into a plastic bag to hold it in place.  The funny thing is that after all this work, it will go into the darkness of my purse, and won't see the light of day for a long, long time...

To see the cute iPhone cases on Etsy that inspired this idea, go here.