I’m traveling on vacation this week, so my brain has been all consumed with preparation. Ordering new clothes and shoes, spending way too much time in dressing rooms trying on bathing suits, shopping for new luggage… you get the idea. I have a pretty consistent aesthetic when it comes to how I look or the pieces I own, so when the company who arranged our travel details sent us some frightfully ugly luggage tags to use on our trip… they just wouldn’t do! But it did make me realize that my cool luggage needed some cool luggage tags. It was time for a quick Goth it Yourself project. End result: these DIY Punk Rock and Gothic Patch Luggage Tags.
I can’t take all of the credit for the creative genius behind this project. Last week… I was in the hair salon (in phase 2.0 of attempting to go from blue & black hair back to blonde…. That’s a whole other story!) But the point is… it is a ridiculously time-consuming process. And lucky for me, the salon had an endless number of magazines at my fingertips while I sat and waited for my hair to process. I never waste an opportunity to find inspiration, so I grabbed a stack & dove in. I left that night with slightly blonder hair, and a bunch of ideas!
Coincidentally, one of those ideas happened to be for luggage tags. I’m not sure which of the magazines I was reading at the time, but I came across some pictures of luggage tags that someone had made using old boy scout patches. Clever, but obviously not my aesthetic. The entire feature was all about using old patches in different DIY projects. It got me thinking about all of the patches I used to collect… skulls, crosses, and a ridiculous amount of band logos. I used to put them on everything. I was quite the little punk rocker! While all of my patches have since been packed away in a box, collecting dust… I’ve noticed their popularity still remains among many in my circles. I’ll take a guess that if you’re a fan of my blog, you too may have collected them back in the day, or perhaps are working on your collection right now. Either way, this project is a great way to bring new life to them!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Vinyl ID Badge Holders
- Adhesive Velvet
- Small, heat set patches
- Luggage Tag Straps
- Iron
- Card stock
- Printer
When picking out your patches, pay close attention to the width of the ID badge. They aren’t very wide, so you’ll want to choose your smaller patches. The link above were the largest ID badges I could find without having to buy them in bulk. My old patches were so beat up that I opted to buy new ones for this project… so if you like any of the ones I made in the photos (the Red Skull & Crossbones
Next, I chose to use adhesive velvet backing. The original boy scout tag used felt sewn onto the vinyl. First of all, an adhesive backing is WAY easier! No sewing involved. And let’s face it… velvet always looks a hell of a lot cooler than felt! I will say, however, if you travel a lot, and will be rough on these tags, you may want to run a stitch around the velvet to make it completely secure on the badge. If you don’t, it does risk eventually peeling away.
Measure the inside edges of your vinyl holder. I opted to use the side of the badge holder with the open pocket, and reserved the resealable side for the information card. I cut the velvet to fit exactly on that pocket.
Heat up your iron
Place the patch on the velvet, and gently apply heat with the iron. DO NOT leave the iron on the patch for long… it will melt the ID badge. I would just apply a little heat at a time, letting it cool for a bit in between. But make sure it is FULLY adhered… you don’t want your patch peeling off!
Next… print out an info card. You can type one up yourself, or find one online. You just need the basics…. Name, address, phone number. Print on card stock. I used a decorative background on mine… but that’s up to you.
Insert your card into the resealable pocket.
Lastly, add your luggage tag straps. You can order them online, or steal them off of old luggage tags you don’t use anymore.
Attach to your luggage and go on vacation in style!
this post contains affiliate links…
Leave a Reply