Making portfolios

I sometimes feel like a regular bag-lady collecting cardboard boxes from the neighbour’s re-cycling!
I make my own portfolios which can range from really scrappy functional portfolios to sturdy better-finished but still very functional portfolios.

I like the organic feel of corrugated cardboard instead of plastic. The very scrappy ones are just two bits of card with a plastic spine, But I’ll show you my higher-end-state-of-art ones (she says, tongue-in-cheek)
For maximum durability, the corrugated lines could run vertically on one piece and horizontally on the other piece. Then it’s less likely to buckle. And a useful tip for posting work!
The sheets should be 5cm larger than the work, so an A3 file would be 35cm X 47cm.

• Lay the first sheet on some very wide masking tape.
• Place the second sheet on the masking tape with a 2cm gap between the sheets of card.
• This will hold several piece of artwork.
• Flap the masking tape over the edges.
  
• Stick another strip of masking tape on the inside, gently overlapping it over the inner edges of the corrugated card.
• Neaten the outer edges by sticking masking tape or plastic parcel tape over the edges. White masking tape looks a bit yucky, but you can now get brown masking tape for framing suppliers and that is much nicer than plastic parcel tape – but hey!, this is just your utilitarian very useful folder.
• You need flaps and these can be made of paper or fabric.
  
• For fabric flaps, spread PVA glue generously over the surface of one side and stick some strong fabric down. The folder above has one cardboard flap and two fabric flaps. The one below has 3 fabric flaps.
  
• This is my smart folder with its’ fabric flaps. The next stage is to add ties. I use ribbon, cotton tape – whatever is available. You can cut slits and thread it through then tie knots (as with the black ties).
• The smart looking way is to glue the ribbon down, then stitch it to the card with a single cross-stitch, so that there is no strain on the card, then cover the glued end on the inside with some brown masking tape. (I’m bursting with pride here!)

And voila!