Pallet for Home

"Summer Social" Guest Project -- Make a DIY Laptop Skin!! {tutorial}

Friday, July 15, 2011

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




























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.

Labels: computer stuff, cool things, diy, guest posting, summer social