Tuesday, October 16, 2012

How to Make a Removable Laptop Cover

Once upon a time, I was a supervisor in a customer service call center. To make it easier for supervisors to remain connected to the borg, er, their team, each of us had a laptop. The laptops were standard issue black bricks which could probably withstand being dropped off the roof of a building.

And they were all the same. **YAWN**

So I did what any self-respecting crafter would do - I made mine way cooler.

Because the laptop wasn't actually mine, I needed to make sure the cover could be removed in the event I needed to switch laptops or stopped working there. You can make your own laptop cover, too, for less than $2 (assuming you have Mod Podge on hand).

Supplies Needed:
  • Laptop (this will work best if yours does not have a textured lid)
  • Surface cleaner
  • 1 roll white contact paper ($1 - from dollar store)
  • Coordinating scrapbook paper (on hand or about $0.25 each sheet)
  • Drinking glasses or other round object to use as a tracing guide
  • Pencil 
  • Scissors and/or exacto knife
  • Mod Podge (I used matte finish, but use your fave finish)
  • Brush or foam applicator to apply modpodge

Step 1: Clean the laptop
Clean your laptop to remove dirt, oil, etc and ensure that the contact paper will adhere well.

Step 2: Cut contact paper
Lay the contact paper over the laptop and trim to the right length and width. Be sure to leave enough extra to wrap over the edges. Remember that you can always trim away excess but you can't add more later.

Step 3: Fit contact paper to laptop
Use a small pair or scissors or an exacto knife to carefully cut notches as needed for any moving parts. My laptop had hinges on the back as well as an unlock slide on the front edge that needed to be cut around. Once the contact paper is nice and smooth on the back and wrapped around the edges, trim away any excess to make it pretty.

Step 4: Cut out paper
On the back of your pretty paper, trace circles in varying sizes using drinking glasses or other round objects from your home. Cut out your shapes and set aside.

Step 5: Arrange and Adhere
Play with your shapes until you find an arrangement that you like. Once you're happy, use your Mod Podge to glue your pieces down starting with the lowest layer and building up (new to the 'Podge? Check out my friend Amy's video tutorial here for how to use modpodge [although I don't use a brayer - sorry, Amy!])

Make sure you coat the whole thing at the end to seal all the edges and give it a uniform finish.

Step 6: Let dry and enjoy!
Let your laptop dry at least overnight to cure. When you're done you can enjoy working in style.

I'm sharing this with:
* Get your Craft on at: Today's Creative Blog*


(links to products within this post are my affiliate links and I may receive a portion of any sales resulting from your click. I promise to only link to products I personally recommend. Thank you for supporting Carissa's Creativity Space) 

3 comments:

  1. That looks beautiful, So much more exciting than a boring black one coming via get your craft on

    ReplyDelete
  2. I definitely need to make one of these to for my computer! =)

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me happy! Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

How to Make a Removable Laptop Cover

Once upon a time, I was a supervisor in a customer service call center. To make it easier for supervisors to remain connected to the borg, er, their team, each of us had a laptop. The laptops were standard issue black bricks which could probably withstand being dropped off the roof of a building.

And they were all the same. **YAWN**

So I did what any self-respecting crafter would do - I made mine way cooler.

Because the laptop wasn't actually mine, I needed to make sure the cover could be removed in the event I needed to switch laptops or stopped working there. You can make your own laptop cover, too, for less than $2 (assuming you have Mod Podge on hand).

Supplies Needed:
  • Laptop (this will work best if yours does not have a textured lid)
  • Surface cleaner
  • 1 roll white contact paper ($1 - from dollar store)
  • Coordinating scrapbook paper (on hand or about $0.25 each sheet)
  • Drinking glasses or other round object to use as a tracing guide
  • Pencil 
  • Scissors and/or exacto knife
  • Mod Podge (I used matte finish, but use your fave finish)
  • Brush or foam applicator to apply modpodge

Step 1: Clean the laptop
Clean your laptop to remove dirt, oil, etc and ensure that the contact paper will adhere well.

Step 2: Cut contact paper
Lay the contact paper over the laptop and trim to the right length and width. Be sure to leave enough extra to wrap over the edges. Remember that you can always trim away excess but you can't add more later.

Step 3: Fit contact paper to laptop
Use a small pair or scissors or an exacto knife to carefully cut notches as needed for any moving parts. My laptop had hinges on the back as well as an unlock slide on the front edge that needed to be cut around. Once the contact paper is nice and smooth on the back and wrapped around the edges, trim away any excess to make it pretty.

Step 4: Cut out paper
On the back of your pretty paper, trace circles in varying sizes using drinking glasses or other round objects from your home. Cut out your shapes and set aside.

Step 5: Arrange and Adhere
Play with your shapes until you find an arrangement that you like. Once you're happy, use your Mod Podge to glue your pieces down starting with the lowest layer and building up (new to the 'Podge? Check out my friend Amy's video tutorial here for how to use modpodge [although I don't use a brayer - sorry, Amy!])

Make sure you coat the whole thing at the end to seal all the edges and give it a uniform finish.

Step 6: Let dry and enjoy!
Let your laptop dry at least overnight to cure. When you're done you can enjoy working in style.

I'm sharing this with:
* Get your Craft on at: Today's Creative Blog*


(links to products within this post are my affiliate links and I may receive a portion of any sales resulting from your click. I promise to only link to products I personally recommend. Thank you for supporting Carissa's Creativity Space) 

3 comments:

  1. That looks beautiful, So much more exciting than a boring black one coming via get your craft on

    ReplyDelete
  2. I definitely need to make one of these to for my computer! =)

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me happy! Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

 
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