A Belt and Holster Made of Cardboard

I have been needing a holster for my anvil pruner that I use a lot in the garden. I decided to make it and a belt to go with it out of cardboard to see how practical the idea was. Proceed to the results!

The usual tools for working with cardboard, and corrugated cardboard is used as the base material. Various paints are used in finishing. Clamps are needed as well. Any good glue will do.

For the belt, I cut some cardboard to 1 and 1/4 in. width. For the clasp that I devised, I needed to measure the length of the belt to within one inch of the overall size needed to fit my waist. I think this length was 35 inches (of course it will vary with each individual).

A 5/8 inch piece of dowel is used for this "clasp". See pictures for complete details on how to cut 2 pieces for the clasp.

Here, I have drilled two holes for the wood pices to fit into. The dowel parts are glued into these holes with regular white glue. The strength of these joints is impressive.

Here, the pieces of wood dowel are glued into the cardboard "belt" pieces cut and drilled as shown.

A piece of elastic is sewn onto two pieces of belt as shown. By using this elastic, the belt can "expand" as needed for a snug fit. The elastic also pulls back on the clasp to ensure a positive "lock" so that the belt won't come undone.

For a real leather look, I used a bone folder to score the diamond pattern shown. With some creative painting techniques, I was able to make the belt appear to be made of snakeskin! If wanted, a name can be added. I outline the name on the belt, and using the bone folder, scored around the letters so that they were "raised" or stood out.

The cardboard is cut as shown. The piece that goes on top is pressed down on the pruner to form the final shape needed. This piece will actually be a little larger than the bottom piece that it is glued to. I used lots of clamps, lots of glue, and let it set overnight to ensure a good, solid bond. Note how the belt loops are attached. Make sure enough space is left for the belt to slide through. I scored these cardboard pieces over a piece of wood to make sure that space was sufficient.

Acrylic paint is used to finish holster. I used burnt sienna as the base coat. Asphaltum, a dark brown, is used to paint the edges. I side loaded the brush with this color so as to blend it into the sienna.
Finally, stitches are added all around the edges. For a realistic effect, stitching is painted by 1, adding black dots, 2, making a shadow with a black marker, 3; adding stitch with burnt sienna diluted with white, and 4: adding a highlight to each stitch using a liner brush and old parchment (off white) paint.

I even made a buckle out of cardboard! But since I will be using this only outside while gardening, I decided not to attach the buckle at this time. If you were making these with/for kids, you could do so and add their names, or the names of their heroes to the buckle!