Beautiful, Sturdy Storage Portfolio for Artwork

My work space at home isn't the biggest and I needed an affordable, hopefully attractive way to store my various creations. Anyone who looks at my instructibles knows that "make it cheap" are my watch words. I had some various fabric remnants that were not of a size to make much practical out of. I also had a few sheets of foam core. Since these are going to be used for storage in the studio, that is, not being carried around a lot, I decided that this would be a perfect base for my storage portfolios. Foam core is pretty study, and since these are covered with fabric, there is extra protection against denting.

What I used:

2 sheets of foam core (20x30 in)
fabric remnant (approx.28x40)
glue gun
ribbon
needle with a BIG eye (repair needles are nice)
something to poke some holes (I used the pointy end of a compass)
*optional
stencil
paint

Center the foam core on the fabric as much as possible. Make sure to leave a gap between the two sheets! I left a gap of 2.5 inches in the center and a 4 inch fabric border on all four sides. Secure all four corners of the foam core sheets with a drop of hot glue.

Starting at what will be the top, carefully fold the fabric over to create a neat hem. I used about 2.5 inch hems all around on my portfolios. Again, secure just the corners with a drop of glue.

Carefully glue the fabric to the foam core along the outside edge. Do this on both ends.

Now to do the sides. This is a little trickier. Fold the fabric the same way to create a hem but make sure the fabric is pulled taughtly around the foam core (don't want any wrinkles). Pin the fabric in place, and glue down the side seams.

Once the sides are glued in place, glue the corners. Make sure to glue both folds of each corner so that everything looks nice and neat!

Now for the handles and closure! Mark where everything is supposed to be and get to stabbing! I used the pointy end of a compass. I was able to get it to go through both sheets of foam core easily. I threaded ribbon on a repair needle ( any needle really if the eye is big enough) and threaded that through the holes I just punched. I secured these with a pretty beefy knot, and secured the knot with a bit of glue. Make sure both handles are the same length! I repeated this step in the center, above the the handles, to attach pieces of ribbon to tie the portfolio closed.

I added stencil to mine because if something is worth doing its worth doing well. Take it on faith that my stencil was taped down, all I had in the studio was clear tape.

And here's the finished product! I was so pleased that I made a second the same way, but with a single 20x30 inch sheet of foam core cut in half (15x20). I plan on using this plan to make a tougher version for travel the same way, but out of canvas panels to give the portfolio a bit more strength.
*Update* I've carried the smaller of the two around quite a bit. I'm quite pleased with how sturdy these turned out. I definitely recommend securing the handles with a bit of glue to keep the knots from slipping if you plan on carrying these around a lot.