Now I'm abit of a hoarder and any time I find something I think is practical or useful in some way I will take it home! 2 years back I was at a one day event that was like a mix between a convention and a flea market for TV-games. They even had Charles Martinet, the voice of Super Mario, there as a guest of honor(got the chance to take a photo with him and even eat pizza with him after the event hehe).
Anyway, during the event I got my hoarding paws on a pair of poster tubes from his signing during the event for free. They were going to throw them away anyways so I took a pair. They are super useful but a little bleak so I decided to decorate them!
I used wrapping paper I bought from my local Hobby & Crafts store. Really liked the oriental look to it. I covered the tube in a thin layer of modpodge with the help of a sponge. Then while keeping the paper taunt just rolled the tube in. I used a wide brush on top of the paper as I went to prevent bubbles from building but that’s optional.
Note: This project can be really tedious and you have a very short time frame to work with before the glue dries over. If not well practiced then you might need a second pair of hands so ask a friend to help out!
(FYI: It is possible solo but you’ll probably need to get abit creative with the process. I personally just did the whole thing on the floor holding the ends of the tube with my ankles. I had one end of the paper in my left hand and shifted between brushing out bubbles and turning the tube with my right.)
Second note: Remove the lids before you start and also pre-cut your paper making sure you have some over to fold into the openings later.(see last photo at end of the entry.)
Once done you can either cut or fold the excess paper and glue it down. If you are like me with minor obsessive streak you might not like that the pattern doesn't align and look seamless. It's hard as it is to get a perfectly straight pattern all the way and I assure you it will most probably get crooked.
I cut along the hexagons in the overlapping end and glued it over the other like so:
To the left uncut ends comparison, to the right exactly how I cut the ends.
From a distance it really looks seamless! So pretty!~
To finish it all off just cut some slits to the ends I mentioned in the second note. Glue the inside and fold them snuggly inwards. Optionally after you can either modpodge or clearcoat the outside of the tube. You can also put down a strip of black tape on the lip of the openings to help prevent the paper from riping from all the times in the future you’ll be opening and closing the lids. If not, BOOM!! You’re officially done!~
If you’re looking to do this project but don’t have a poster tube you can probably get them at some convention or perhaps the local cinemas or electronic store. Gamestop is otherwise probably the most promising place to check. They seem to advertise alot by posters.
If you are like most artists whom draw pieces in bigger formats like A3's, A2's or something in those ways, or maybe you buy alot of posters and/or wrapping paper you know how much of a pain lugging these around can be when moving from Point A to Point B. They are too long and keeps moving around in your grocery bag, maybe even falling out. You rarely find one of those stores that have those special plastic bags that are designed just for those rolls of paper that have been showing up more and more recently. Packing them in your backpack doesn't work either since it keeps opening the zipper leaving your bag open for your inconvenience.
Not everyone has the extra money to buy those sleek and expensive tubecases that architects usually have.
What is the point of my little tirade here? Oh right, like the title says I have a protip for this problem!
Now I have a design related solution to the problem and another that works for all occasions that I’ve personally used for ages.
Not long ago I bought this bag here of ebay:
Now what's interesting is that I discovered you can use the netpockets on the flanks to put them scrolls in. I wouldn't go for the regular sized posters though if you don't have those adjustable side straps most bigger backpack have. I have a similar backpack from Asaklitt that's bigger with the said straps and it works! Another thing that is special with my bag though is the outer front pocket.
It's a pocket most likely for you to put a pad of paper, a tablet, maybe some spare clothes or something thin like that. But I found that the space on each side of the two velcro bits are perfect to put scrolls in!
The velcro is strong enough to keep it tight and closed preventing the scrolls from moving around and the bottom of the space is deep enough so that the scrolls can't pop out upwards either~
I bet there are other bags with such pockets out there so keep an eye out for them or if you are crafty and good with needle and thread you could probably modify a bag to do the same.
Now, as for the second solution I wanted to share!
What you'll need is a bag with a double end zipper, make sure you have a strap in each end, and one of those Reflex snap bands you can get in most stores or even for free during events and such.
Remember when I talked earlier about how putting scrolls in your backpack was a lost cause because it would most probably just leave your bag wide open? Fear not for this trick will solve your problem! close the zipper and slide one of these snapbands through the loops in your zipper like so in the picture under.⬇
And just snap it shut around the scrolls, done! The snapband will keep everything in place and no matter how it is jostled it will not fall open! Yay!~
Anyways, hope you all found this useful and I will see you in the next entry!
