i’ve made several of the portfolios that were given on Amy Butler’s website as a free pattern. i made one last month (i just posted the pictures in the February gallery), but could not post about it until now because i had made it as a gift for a friend! i also just made one for my little cousin’s birthday, but decided to give it to her a few months early since she was home for spring break this week. i figured she’d get more use out of it while she still had classes, rather than wait until June!
the portfolios were very easy to make. the only problem was i had a really hard time finding chipboard, so i ended up going to Home Depot and getting this very thin, but sturdy, temporary hardwood (i think that’s what it was called). it’s basically the same consistency of what a clipboard is made out of. i liked that much better than the chipboard idea only because i wanted to make sure it would be able to stand up to anything! the first one i made (the black and white print with red accents), i ended up using covered buttons as an accent on the inside pockets so that it would add a little more character to it. but afterwards i had wished i didn’t use it only because when the portfolio was closed it would be raised a little bit, rather than laying flat down together. i also tweaked the design a bit by adding the pocket on the right hand side to hold a notepad rather than just having more pockets since the portfolio was originally designed to hold paper crafts. i also like that each side is a pocket so there is more room to hold more paper, which is why i think this is a great gift to make for a student or teacher!
when i gave the green paisley one to my cousin, she loved it. she is a huge fan of Vera Bradley so the colors i chose for her portfolio were perfect for her style! i remember thinking i didn’t want to have to buy more ribbon and luckily i had the perfect blue plaid ribbon leftover from a gift to use as the ties! i think the second one turned out much better than the first, but i guess that comes with practice! i think when i make the portfolio again, i will cover the wood with some lighweight batting, to give it a more soft feel.
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