Making Magic Wallets

This summer my mom tasked me with a small "sewing" project for my Grandma Nina.  My mom understands that my crafting style leans towards smaller projects that can be completed--start to finish--in a day.  In this case, in just a couple hours.  Added bonus:  This is actually a no-sew project.  It is just cutting and gluing.

My grandma is a fan of the so-called "Magic Wallet."  Do you know about these?

For me, they bring to mind Mrs. Peterson, who was a substitute teacher almost my entire 1st Grade year after a fall seriously injured my regular teacher.  Along with a punctilious emphasis on penmanship and a very short and well-endowed physical stature, I remember that Mrs. Peterson made Magic Wallets.  A few years back our paths crossed again on the craft show circuit.  Small world.  She still makes Magic Wallets.

My mom had almost all the required supplies for me--spray adhesive, fabric, and ribbon.  And the worn out favorite I was trying to knock-off.  The only thing I had to find was the rigid cardboard base.  Matting board was suggested, but wasn't available at Jo-Ann's and I was in no mood to shop around.  Ultimately I used some cardboard cake serving platters (aka cake boards) from Jo-Ann's baking aisle.  

Grandma's well loved tri-fold Magic Wallet.

My mom also included a print-out of this free pattern she had found online.  That is what I used as my guide--though the typos drove me a little bonkers.  To make it just a shade tricky, my grandma's Magic Wallet was a tri-panel version with credit card slots instead of the standard two panel Magic Wallet.  I looked for a pattern online, but didn't readily find one that matched Grandma's old battered favorite.  So, I just ad-libbed from Robin's pattern.  

The other side of the well loved wallet.

I made one, learning some of the finesse of working with spray adhesive along the way.  Then I made a second which turned out slightly better than the first, as tends to happen.  I sent her both.  In her return thank you card Grandma was quite tickled that I'd figured out how to make them.  She also asked if I might make one more, but of the basic model this time.  Since her whole retirement community has been on lockdown together for much of the year she doesn't carry her checkbook and cards so much, but still needs a little cash from time to time.  She thought maybe a plain-jane Magic Wallet would be a better fit, given the circumstances.  

It took me a couple months to get around to it...which is really silly given how easy a Magic Wallet is to make, but it all worked out.  When I got Grandma's name in the family Christmas exchange I knew that the time had come.  I made it in red rose fabrics I had leftover from a dress I made (and never posted about).  She loves red.  And flowers.  It seemed right.

Apparently making wallets is my thing.