Hello Tatertots and Jello readers!!! I am beside myself excited to be here today. Jen has been a big supporter of MaryJanes and Galoshes from the beginning and I can not thank her enough! My name is Taylor, I will spare you the boring details and get on with the fun stuff!
I’m one of the ten True Value Blog squad members this year so right now on MJ&G you can find me creating a fun outdoor living space! Today I’m breaking away from my project to share something quick, easy, and (I think) so fun! I’ll be the first to admit I get bored easily. If you already read MJ&G you probably now I’m a ball of randomness and am always switching things up (including my blog banner, because I get tired of looking at it). So I’ve been oohing over all the fun laptop skins online FOREVER but I know I would tire of it to quickly to justify the cost…… so I came up with my own solution that is 1. CHEAP! and 2. completely changeable! Here is my finished project….
What you need–
- White contact paper (shelf liner, found in the housewares department, or I got mine at True Value!)
- Laptop template (I modified mine from a free one at Sticker Mule or you can create your own)
- Permanent markera Image to trace (unless your a free hand drawer/doodler!)
- Scissors
- Window or lightbox
My last laptop was silver and I never seemed to have any issues with it looking dirty or beat up, but this (practically brand new) black laptop looks AWFUL!
To top it off my daughter got into some nail polish and began to paint it pink! Which may have been lovely…. but not done by a two year old 🙂 But not even my remover could get it all off…..
So I was a bit embarrassed to take my laptop in public…. It’s all good now! To start….. print out your template or make one by laying paper down and your laptop upside down on top and trace. If there are any special molding indents you need to go around go ahead and work that out on paper. I had to go around a small ditch at the bottom.
Contact paper comes in all kinds of colors, I chose white because I wanted to draw on mine. Wood grain is very easy to find and would really fun if your in to that kind of thing. You may like to draw on top of a patterned option also… it’s completely up to you and very easy to change when you want something new.
1. Lay your template onto the back side of the contact paper, tape down and trim around.
2. You can test to see how it fits after you cut it out. It wont’ stick until you remove the paper backing. I decided I wanted to put one of my (many) previous banners on mine, so I printed it out and used the window to trace the design onto the contact paper.
3. Using permanent markets… I have a great set of colored sharpies. The fine tips weren’t great for coloring the large areas, but it did work so use your judgement on what you can live with.
4. Remove the protective backing from your contact paper and stick to your laptop! Don’t stress to much about this step…. contact paper is VERY forgiving and will allow you to reposition multiple times. Smooth out any airbuses you may get. You can prick stubborn ones with a pin if needed.
I can think of so many fun possibilities for this! How about a calendar, or an advertisement for your business while your in public…. Your log when your at a craft or art fair! You can also use acrylic paint if you prefer to paint. Just don’t bother trying to use your printer….. I tried it….. smudge city. Thanks so much for having me here today! I hope you are able to come and visit me sometime! Lots of fun to be had at MaryJanes and Galoshes! ♥ Taylor
Taylor has super awesome ideas like:
PS — For all of my Utah friends — Downeast Basics & Modbe is having a HUGE warehouse sale in Layton tomorrow. Nothing will be over $10. You can find out more on the Downeast Facebook Page. I’m going to try to make it to that — sounds awesome!!
PPS — It’s FRIDAY — my favorite day of the week. Why?? Because that’s when I can see and feature YOUR ideas. Come link them up to The Weekend Wrap Up Party. The party starts tonight at 6 pm MST.
Great idea!! But i hav a question….. do u need to put the vinyl paper on both the sides of the design paper…… so that it dosent tear ?
Thanks! I’ll have to give it a try. 🙂
What a great idea! Do you know if a skin will work on a textured laptop, though? (Mine is big enough that it only came in boring black – I really wanted RED! – but it’s textured so I’m not sure if I can skin it.)
I’ve tried it on Jennifer’s with Silhouette vinyl … so it probably will! I think it’s worth a try. (Signed, Mr. Jen.)
I’ve spent hours looking for a skin for my new laptop…just made one in 2 minutes using the marble print contact paper I had in the pantry. Problem solved. Thanks!
Love this tutorial!! I just did one with my blog… not as pro-looking as Taylor's, but I can always make another one later 🙂
Picture here!
http://chocolateneeded.blogspot.com/2011/07/exploding-chocolate.html
Thia is just what my poor laptop needs.Thanks!
Just did one myself 🙂 Thanks for such a fun idea!
Wonderful idea just in time for me to figure out before my next show to advertise when I'm in public with my laptop!
Thanks!
Anna W. aka @FELTit on Twitter
http://www.annasplaceofholding.blogspot.com
I am inspired! Great idea!
What a great idea!
This is so cute. I can't wait to get started on one.
Thanks for sharing this tutorial.
Ruth
That is such a FANTASTIC IDEA!
I absolutely love this idea! Just a question though before I try this– is it easy to take off the contact paper once you want to change it? And also, does it leave a sticky residue if you take it off?
Thanks!
-Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
http://bonniegetchell.blogspot.com
Oh my gosh- her blog is so adorable!!
What a great idea! LOVE it!
Neat idea!! I don't know if it would work with my Sony…the top is textured, but I think it's a fabulous look. Anything to pretty up my techie stuff. 😉
Anthony- Contact paper isn't actually paper, silly huh? It's more like think vinyl. Glad you think it looks cool!
So basically it's just paper on a laptop. How did you make it look so cool?
OOHHH! How fun!!! Can't wait to try, thanks for the tutorial!
Beth
How fun! I have a huge roll of contact paper in my craft stash! I love that lego invite too…my boys would LOVE that!
LOVE this idea! The laptop skin looks amazing! I will definitely give this a try once I figure out what I want on my laptop =D Thanks for sharing!
XOXO
http://www.allabouttwenties.blogspot.com
YAY!! I can't wait to make a cover for mine now!!! What a great ideas to advertise your blog or website on the cover!!
Wow that is a great idea to make my laptop pretty again 🙂
come check out my giveaway I am having 🙂
http://peaceloveandtwinkies.blogspot.com/2011/07/meet-dreaming-of-paris-giveaway.html
Love this idea! I've seen the custom skins, but never thought to make my own. I love how you can have some subtle advertising while using the wi-fi at the local cafe. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks again for having me!
I am totally loving this idea! I just need to figure out what I want to do for my laptop. 🙂