Card Wallet 2.0

We were fond of the design for card wallet 1.0, but found the thin garter difficult to sew. Opting for leather added an elegant touch, enhancing its overall appeal. We also streamlined the design to feature a single point of entry and exit, ensuring cards stayed secure regardless of quantity.

This particular version was crafted with love for my mother's side of the family. As she prepared to visit the Philippines, she saw it as a thoughtful personalized gift for her mother, siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and more. We even created two distinct designs—a lovely floral pattern for the ladies and a sleek chevron design for the men.

Process

1. Similar to Wallet 1.0, designing the wallet was so much fun. We used Fusion 360 to tweak the original design to have holes for the leather and we added the walls for the bottom. We also changed the etched design for the surface of the wallet.
2. Once we finalized the design in Fusion 360, we exported the DXF files and imported them into Lightburn. With everything programmed we started with etching the MDF before moving on to cutting the outline.
3. Then after the MDF, we etched the person's name and then cut it out from the leather that we got from Pete's Emporium's leather scrap box.
4. After the pieces were etched and cut, we installed into place the snap for the wallet. Making sure they aligned.
5. We then began assembling the MDF pieces with wood glue.
6. Once the glue had dried, we applied shellac to the MDF surface. 
7. After the shellac had dried we used wax thread to sew on the leather strap to the holes at the back of the wallet.

The journey to create the card wallet was labor-intensive but rewarding. After much hands-on work, we crafted a beautiful, simple, and practical accessory. Seeing my mom's excitement and anticipation to gift it to her family filled us with joy. Knowing that our creation brought happiness to her made the effort worthwhile.

This to improve on:

1. The leather knots aren’t as secure on all of them, and some may come off. We need to learn more about how to improve this aspect.
2. The MDF edges where it was laser cut are too smooth, causing issues with the glue’s adhesion. We might need to either switch to a different glue, rough up the edges, or reconsider the design entirely.
3. Installing the snaps on the MDF has also been challenging. The MDF can be too fragile, causing it to break, and if the snaps aren’t hammered in securely, they tend to come off when the wallet is opened.