Tetra Pak Wallet
A simple slim wallet made from 1L Tetrapak carton commonly used for milk products - the only things you'll need are scissors or a craft knife, a hard edged object to crease edges with and a 1L Tetrapak carton that suits your design fancy. This wallet requires no glue, adhesives or tape.
It should take about 3 minutes to make an extremely practical, durable and waterproof wallet that looks better as it gets older!
It should take about 3 minutes to make an extremely practical, durable and waterproof wallet that looks better as it gets older!
Choosing Your Design
Rinse well and dry the Tetrapak carton before starting to ensure no residue remains in the carton.
Open the top of the carton fully.
The most important step is organising how the wallet will look when finished and this is the first decision to make.
You will need to choose what face of the carton will be on the outside of the wallet and which will be on the inside. With the carton standing upright choose a surface that will be the outside (the one that everyone will see and comment on), the inside face of the wallet will be the surface directly to the right of the wallet's outside face [see picture]. The other two faces will not be seen, but will be used for folding and will make the wallet more durable.
Open the top of the carton fully.
The most important step is organising how the wallet will look when finished and this is the first decision to make.
You will need to choose what face of the carton will be on the outside of the wallet and which will be on the inside. With the carton standing upright choose a surface that will be the outside (the one that everyone will see and comment on), the inside face of the wallet will be the surface directly to the right of the wallet's outside face [see picture]. The other two faces will not be seen, but will be used for folding and will make the wallet more durable.
Cutting the Template
The first cut will be on the opposite seam of the chosen faces [see first picture] continue to the bottom surface of the carton.
Cut the bottom and top carton flaps on all edges except for the flaps connected to the inside face of the wallet [see second and third pictures].
Cut a small 5mm section off the top of the inside pocket to allow the pocket to be folded in. [see fourth picture]
Open out flat so that the template matches the one in the fifth picture.
Cut the bottom and top carton flaps on all edges except for the flaps connected to the inside face of the wallet [see second and third pictures].
Cut a small 5mm section off the top of the inside pocket to allow the pocket to be folded in. [see fourth picture]
Open out flat so that the template matches the one in the fifth picture.
Cutting the Pockets
Once the template is flat, fold the template in half. You may want to crease the edges to make the wallet sit flatter for this process. [see second picture]
With the carton opened out cut a 5mm section from each side of the half fold seam to form two pockets - this will also allow the wallet to close easier when finished. [see third picture]
The inside pockets will need a small cut to allow you to get cards out of the wallet easier. This can be any design - semi-circle, v-cut or whatever you fancy. Picture four shows a v-shaped cut on each pocket's inside edge. [see fourth picture]
With the carton opened out cut a 5mm section from each side of the half fold seam to form two pockets - this will also allow the wallet to close easier when finished. [see third picture]
The inside pockets will need a small cut to allow you to get cards out of the wallet easier. This can be any design - semi-circle, v-cut or whatever you fancy. Picture four shows a v-shaped cut on each pocket's inside edge. [see fourth picture]
Cutting the Securing Flaps
Cut the bottom and top flaps which are connected to the chosen inside of the wallet in half. Cut a slight diagonal off each flap to allow the wallet to be folded together easier. [see second picture]
Cut the top flap of the template so it is 20mm all along the top seam - this will make the wallet stiffer, more durable and allows the wallet to be folded together. [see third picture]
The template should now look like picture four
Cut the top flap of the template so it is 20mm all along the top seam - this will make the wallet stiffer, more durable and allows the wallet to be folded together. [see third picture]
The template should now look like picture four
Creasing Edges
Crease all edges of the wallet on both sides to weaken the cardboard, this will make the wallet sit flatter - This can be done with a ruler or any hard object.
Some of the printing may come off during this process but will probably happen over time in your pocket anyway...
Some of the printing may come off during this process but will probably happen over time in your pocket anyway...
Folding the Wallet
Fold the front pockets up to the finished position, to form two inside pockets and a long section for notes. [see first and second pictures]
The flaps with diagonal cut will need to be folded under the long seam flap in the note section. You may need to bend the wallet slightly to make this happen. [see picture three]
Some edges may also need to be trimmed so that the wallet can fold easier. When doing this only cut about 1mm at a time so that you do not cut too much off. Re crease the wallet in finished state to make it flatter.
Fold the wallet into the closed position.
The flaps with diagonal cut will need to be folded under the long seam flap in the note section. You may need to bend the wallet slightly to make this happen. [see picture three]
Some edges may also need to be trimmed so that the wallet can fold easier. When doing this only cut about 1mm at a time so that you do not cut too much off. Re crease the wallet in finished state to make it flatter.
Fold the wallet into the closed position.
Finished Wallet
Now your wallet is finished, you can throw your old wallet away and start enjoying your slim new wallet. These wallets are so easy to make you may want to make one for every day of the week and for the members of your family.
Keep an eye out for Tetrapaks that will look cool made into wallets and try some variations [see step 8]
Keep an eye out for Tetrapaks that will look cool made into wallets and try some variations [see step 8]
Variations
One major variation is using a 2L juice carton instead of a milk carton. Check out my other instructable for some direction on how to do this.
This Instructable shows how to make a wallet with pockets accessed from the inside seam of the wallet, however depending on how you like to use a wallet, you may want a coin section or outside accessed pockets.
For outside accessed pockets, all steps are similar, only the template cutting differs. Pictures one to three show the template for outside accessed pockets. Folding process remains the same.
If you want to add a section to hold coins, follow the process to make inside accessed pockets and crease diagonals to allow the pocket to be squeezed together to insert coins. When the wallet is closed all of the coins will be shut in the wallet and will not escape into your pocket. [see pictures four to six]
Enjoy experimenting and try other Tetrapak packaging. The 1L pacakge is good to hold typically sized notes, however other packs may be useful for other wallet purposes.
Have fun!
This Instructable shows how to make a wallet with pockets accessed from the inside seam of the wallet, however depending on how you like to use a wallet, you may want a coin section or outside accessed pockets.
For outside accessed pockets, all steps are similar, only the template cutting differs. Pictures one to three show the template for outside accessed pockets. Folding process remains the same.
If you want to add a section to hold coins, follow the process to make inside accessed pockets and crease diagonals to allow the pocket to be squeezed together to insert coins. When the wallet is closed all of the coins will be shut in the wallet and will not escape into your pocket. [see pictures four to six]
Enjoy experimenting and try other Tetrapak packaging. The 1L pacakge is good to hold typically sized notes, however other packs may be useful for other wallet purposes.
Have fun!