Make a Paper Wallet
Want a wallet that you can design yourself? A wallet that matches your notebook? Or a wallet that weighs less than the contents inside? A paper wallet it is! Grab a piece of paper, your scissors, and you'll be two minutes away from wallet ownership. No more money falling out of your pockets, no more lost debit cards. It's smooth sailing from here on out -- read on.
Contents
Steps
Making a Wallet with Flaps
- Get a piece of paper. Even paper from a notebook will work, as long as it is big enough. Ideally, work with colored printer paper. No need to cut it into a square! 8.5 x 11 like it is is just dandy.
- It'll be easier to design it before you start folding and cutting. So if you plan on coloring your wallet, do it now.
- Fold the paper up as shown. You're folding it about 1/3 of the way up.
- Turn it over, and do the same fold. Only this time, do it from top to bottom.
- Turn the little bit of paper remaining back and fold that.
- Get scissors, and cut the sides about 1 inch down on all sides. That's 2.5 cm for you metric system folks.
- Unfold the paper once. At the top where you cut the paper, fold it down on all sides.
- Fold it in half.
- Put the flaps into the paper in the part that you folded.
- Fold in half, and unfold.
- Cut a little bit at the bottom, creating flaps. Take the paper from the inside, and fold it a tiny bit on both sides. Do you see the wallet taking shape?
- Finished. Now you should have a large, long pocket for your bills and two flaps to hold your credit or business cards.
Making a Wallet with Pockets
- Fold the paper into eighths. You should be working with a standard piece of printer paper -- no need to cut it into a square. It's a good idea to start with a boring piece of regular ol' paper, make a wallet successfully, and then make another one with better paper or paper you've designed.
- Once you've done that, unfold the paper so you can move on to the exciting next step.
- Make six one-inch cuts along the creases. This will create four flaps on each side. Just to make sure that's clear, it's one one-inch cut along each crease. These flaps will be used to keep the pockets together.
- Fold over the second and fourth flaps on each side. Fold them toward the paper, toward you. Leave the paper facing you the tall way.
- Draw two lines along the bottom quarter of the page, in the center. They should be about 1/8" apart. In other words, you know the bottom two boxes of the page? Draw two lines right by the crease, really close to each other.
- Above the lines, draw a narrow diamond in the next quarter. It should look like a stop sign that you're viewing from the side (the narrow diamond is the top and the two lines are the post). This will be where you can slide credit cards, business cards or cash into.
- Just to be clear, your two lines go along the entirety of the bottom quarter and the diamond goes along the entirety of the second-to-last quarter.
- Cut out the design and tape the bottom quarter back together. The paper should no longer lay flat on the bottom -- that's a good thing; it means you're doing it right.
- Refold the paper into eighths. Make sure the diamond cutout is on the inside and the two flaps that you never folded in are sticking out. You should see a flap, a pocket, a flap, and a pocket, just like that, on the sides. You do, yeah?
- On top of the wallet should be an opening, just like a normal wallet. If it's on the bottom, flip it over. Ha.
- Fold the flaps into the pockets. That's what they're there for, remember? Fold those bad boys into the pockets they're next to. Tape the flaps into the pockets to make them sturdy, if you'd like.
- Finished! Use your new wallet!
Making a Wallet without Scissors
- Fold a piece of paper in half, the long way. Use a piece of paper you grabbed from your printer. Don't cut it! You need the rectangle shape.
- Fold one side into the middle crease. You now have a fold down the center and a fold down the center of one of the sides.
- Unfold the paper and fold the tips inside to create triangles. If you folded the right side, fold the tips of that side to make small triangles -- they should be about 1" (2.5 cm) in size.
- Refold that side back into the middle crease. Only now, the little triangles are folded down (on the inside).
- Flip the paper over and fold it in half, the short way. Make sure the flaps are on the outside. When you go to fold it, the flapped side should be on the table -- you'll be looking at a regular ol' piece of paper.
- Unfold the paper and bring the edges to the center. That is, take the top and fold it into the middle; then, take the bottom and fold it into the middle. Again, the flaps need to be on the outside when you start your folds.
- Fold the top of the paper over the flaps. This is just to create a firm crease for later. Did we mention creasing it firmly?
- Unfold and tuck the paper into the flaps. You should now see a big pocket for cash and two flaps to keep the smaller stuff.
- Fold the paper in half width-wise and marvel at your wallet. You may want to stick your fingers in the flaps to stretch them out a bit. Now stock it with the Benjamins!
Making a Simple Wallet With Paper and Tape
- Fold a piece of paper in half the short way. Now fold it again the other way.
- Tape up the two sides adjacent to the closed bottom, but leave a little room on the top.
- Fold the two flaps in.
- Roll a piece of tape so that the sticky side faces out. Tape this to the inside of the wallet, where one flap is.
- Put in money, and close it. There you go! The tape will act as a button or magnet that keeps the wallet closed, but you can still open it.
Tips
- Color your wallet or add some designs to make it unique to your personality.
- Use the most sturdy paper for long lasting use.
Things You'll Need
For Methods One and Two
- Scissors
- A piece of printer paper
- Tape (optional)
For Method Three
- A piece of printer paper
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