Now that the gallery exhibit is over, I could get back to some other summer activities. One item that I wanted to get completed prior to the exhibit was a presentation portfolio. Art Calendar talked about the importance of having a portfolio that stands out.
What better way to have a portfolio stand out than to have it be a demonstration of my work at the same time? So, I created the cover to the portfolio first.
Rather than have the portfolio have lots of paper, I opted to create a design that would allow for business cards, postcards, digital media, and some single pages of information. Given the cover size, I figured I would make the single pages be an odd size (8 inches square). So, the next piece was figuring out the dimensions of the page. Because I might use a standard CD or a mini-CD, the design needed to accomodate either. I first worked with paper to get my “template” measurements.
I settled on two “pockets” that have stitched dividers in them. I opted to bind the outside edges of the “page”. I had some leftover “blades” from the fan project and wanted to use them in this portfolio as well.
Then, I had to figure out how to attached the front to the back. I made a tube out of the binding fabric and sewed it to the back of the “page” and then both fused and hand stitched the tube to the back of the front page. 
Finally, a trip to Shipwreck beads and I found the beads that I wanted to use to wrap the blade ties around. 