ILegal Paper Wallet

This wallet is super easy to make using a single sheet of Legal sized printer paper. (8.5" x 14").

This instructable includes free downloadable templates (optional),
does not require glue, scissors or tape to build, and has separate pockets for credit cards and bills.

I'm dedicating this to my 3 year old son, who photographed the steps for us. He seemed to like his wallet, and when he lost it, I was able to quickly make him another one. To add authenticity, I'll keep the next fake credit card that comes in the mail with an offer letter and let him carry it around.

Start by printing one of the templates (attached PDFs) or simply grab a plain sheet of legal paper.

Note: this wallet was inspired by The two minutes paper wallet

If you've got the template, fold on the bottom line (the furthest from the robot pictures). If you are starting with a blank sheet of legal paper, fold the bottom 1 1/3 inches up.

The measurement is an approximation. In fact, if you don't have a ruler handy you can use half the height of a credit card.

You've now created the inside of the credit card pocket.

This should be pretty easy. You just need to fold again in the same direction.

By folding this over twice, you get a nice rounded edge holding in the credit card. If you are more interested in ultra-thin wallets, you can skip this fold.

You've got the credit card pockets with the first two steps, now we need to make the dollar pocket. To do this, you'll need to fold the bottom 2 inches under.

You'll want to make sure all your folds have good creases, so they stay flat and tight.

Fold the bottom two inches over to create the pocket that will hold the dollar bills.

If you don't have a ruler handy, you can use a dollar bill as a guide. The fold should create a pocket about 3/4 of the height of the bill (laying on it's long edge).

In the picture below, I'm just starting the fold -- at least you can see the direction that I'm folding.

By the way, my 3 year old son took these pictures -- not bad eh?

You are now creating the outside of the wallet. The finished wallet should be about 3 inches deep, enough to hide the bills inside.

Crease well!

This is where it gets a little tricky. You need to unfold all but the last four folds ( the credit card and dollar pockets)

Now, you'll need to fold under about a third of an inch on each side. You want these folds to be parallel to the papers edge and creased well.

Doing this step gives the side of the wallet a finished look, resistance from tears and also holds the bills and credit cards in.

Note: If you fold to much in on the sides, the credit cards won't fit. If you fold too little, it will be difficult to make the next fold correctly.

You are almost done! Simply refold along the old creases. You'll find that the outside of the wallet hangs down below the inside pockets. This tail needs to be tucked into the bottom of the wallet.

Now fold the whole thing in half and put it to good use. When it wears out, make a new one!

You don't really have to do anything else to your wallet, but why wouldn't you?

Here are a few ideas:

• Strengthen the wallet with an iron-on denim patch. You can probably find this at your grocery store or a fabric store.
• Write some financial wisdom on the outside of the wallet. You can start with these money quotes.
• Print all your club cards bar codes on the back. You'll want the codes to print about 11 1/2 inches down on the paper so they end up in the right place when all is folded up.
• Write grocery shopping lists on the outside, When there is no more space, discard and make a new one.
• If you are a mac user with access to Omnigraffle, use my omnigraffle template to add personal photos to the outside of your wallet.
• Strengthen the wallet with Duct Tape!
• Make a few, paint them with water color to match your favorite shirts. (ok. i'm lucky when my socks match, but someone might do this --- maybe?)
• Doodle on it.