I decided to make a passport cover for this project because I have just recently received my first passport in the mail. Seeing the passport book made me grin like crazy thinking about my cruise over spring break, traveling just in the U.S. has been so important to me and to think that of all of the places that I could be going in the next year is so exciting. The feeling I get when being somewhere new and exciting, trying different things with different people, and conquering my fears is one of the biggest rushes I have ever experienced. I would love to cross every items off of my bucket list but the places and things I would like to do our completely endless. This passport will unlock some of those opportunities for me though and push me to step out of my comfort zone a little more each and every trip I get the chance to take. I thought this would be a perfect item to make considering my first essay was a travel story of my dad and I going to Oregon and my second essay was a rhetorical analysis on traveling safety. I'm going to Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and the Cayman islands in March and when looking at the price of passport covers- I thought this would be a cheaper more meaningful cover that I could actually have the memory and pride of making myself.

Step 1: Lay All Materials Out

Make sure to lay all materials out in front of you to ensure you have everything you will need for the project!

Materials:

1. Leather sheet (140-340 mm)

2. Ruler

3. Hammer

4. Puncher (in this case we will use a fork)

5. Knife

6. Glue

http://www.michaels.com/

https://www.amazon.com/

Step 2: Apply Glue

Apply glue to the outside of the leather (140 mm to both sides of top and bottom) and fold sides over in order to create slots for your passport to slide into. Make sure not to make the folds too big which would in turn cover your entire passport up, remember to keep in mind that your information should be viewable. Make sure to use a firm press in order to get glue to hold.

Step 3: Cutting Leather

For this step, we will want our leather to be 140mmX340mm. Since the leather doesn't come cut into that size, we will need to use a ruler and a pencil in order to create the shape we are looking for. After your shape is drawn, like in the above video, you will need an exacto knife or a leather cutter to cut the rectangular shape out. Make sure to always cut away from yourself!!

Step 4: Creating Holes

For this step, you will want to use a kitchen fork to poke hole 140 mm on both sides of the passport cover, top and bottom. Make sure to keep your holes straight and press very hard, if you cannot get it with a fork you may need to use a leather puncher, good luck!!

Step 5: Use Wax Thread

Thread through holes from fork to ensure that the cover holds together. Use needles and create loop thread, weaving in and out of the holes to create a pattern as shown in passport picture.