The past two years I haven’t gone all out. Partly because I’ve held back and partly because I’ve been working alone.

This year I want to go all out.

I want to build a geodesic dome for my booth. I think this will accomplish two things:

1. It will be awesome.

2. It will be a good way to do crowd control

I hate parents shoving tired and reluctant kids into an already crowded table. I’ve half-heartedly put up ‘demonstration time’ signs but always end up letting more people in. NO MORE! I need quiet and focus just as much as these shell-shocked kids so this year - a geodesic dome for quiet, privacy, and crowd control.

Last year I spent a lot of time / effort collecting and cutting old plastic to use for wallets. Plastic is great because it is interesting to find, see-through, easy to work with, and would otherwise be thrown away.

A lot of the plastic I used was from my office. We receive large rolls of paper in protective plastic bags. Instead of tossing the bags I saved them and used them at Maker 2010. I didn’t have quite enough plastic so I also collected plastic from construction sites, home, etc. It really forced me to look at trash in a whole new way.

Plastic is like leather. It doesn’t fray. This makes it easy and fun to work. There’s no seaming! The other nice thing is that I used colorful electrical tape. No sewing at all! One group had even brought their still intact wallets from Maker 2009. So awesome!

This year I want to explore a different material - TYVEK!

WALLET 4
 
UPDATE: I’m in the midst of testing different patterns. For the past two Maker Faires I’ve used my own pattern. It’s more complicated than most I see online. So this year I thought I’d see if there was anything interesting to be had on the internet.

Well, this one was great, too. I don’t think I’m gonna use it, though. The instructions were really easy to follow but the finished product is a plain billfold. Maybe if the two were combined…

WALLET 3
 
UPDATE: I’m in the midst of testing different patterns. For the past two Maker Faires I’ve used my own pattern. It’s more complicated than most I see online. So this year I thought I’d see if there was anything interesting to be had on the internet.

This one is great! It’s a total possibility. The instructions are completely easy to follow and it came out very nicely. A couple of folds are a little tricky, but #3 is in the running!

WALLET 2 
 
UPDATE: I’m in the midst of testing different patterns. For the past two Maker Faires I’ve used my own pattern. It’s more complicated than most I see online. So this year I thought I’d see if there was anything interesting to be had on the internet.

This is a great tutorial. It’s complex enough to make a good wallet but the instructions are still easy to follow.

I’m not gonna use it because it involves scissors!

WALLET 1
 
UPDATE: I’m in the midst of testing different patterns. For the past two Maker Faires I’ve used my own pattern. It’s more complicated than most I see online. So this year I thought I’d see if there was anything interesting to be had on the internet.

This pattern comes from Instructables. A cool site. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand these instructions! I got the credit card pockets but I couldn’t figure out how to do the billfold. I messed up a couple of times and then gave up. If I can’t follow it how can I demonstrate it to others?

“Dear Maker,

We are happy to inform you that your proposal for Maker Faire, Maker #4894 - Penelope Popsicle: making a wallet!, has been accepted.  We’re looking forward to having you participate in the 6th Annual Maker Faire Bay Area 2011!”