# My Mora Decal Girl Skin with revamped Amazon cover



## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Here's my Kindle with the Mora skin from Decal Girl. I opted for the Amazon cover because I like the use of the hinges but I didn't care for the "look" so I bought some red faux crocodile/snake? leather off eBay to revamp it. All I did was take off the inner part (it's just glued on), wrapped and glued the outer shell in the red and then glued the inner back on lol. My intention WAS to make good use of my Hello Kitty sewing machine  but then I noticed how easy it was to just use glue lol.

Anyhow, here are the photos.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

What a good job. That is a beautiful skin and I can't believe that is the Amazon cover. It looks great.


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## cincinnatideb (Mar 7, 2009)

Wow!!  That looks awesome.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

THAT is an awesome redo!  Looks terrific with that skin as well!

As much as I love my Oberon, I suspect at some point I'll end up doing something like this to get a thinner, lighter weight cover.  Or some variety.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

That is AMAZING! 

Ok, so my Amazon cover isn't going back now. Pink..I need pink. 

What kind of glue did you use? Anything special?


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks all!    Yeah, the Amazon cover really is nicely compact.

I had ordered a yard of the fabric so I have lots left.  I may end up making a little matching purse.

luvmy4brats, I used Liquid Stitch.  It's for "stitchless sewing".


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

LEM, That cover is beautiful and the decalgirl skin, ooh la la.  I have an extreme aversion to snakes so I will just call it a crocodile cover.  I love the creativity of the members here that post their "modifications" to otherwise "plain" covers to make them more personal and lovely.  I have tried to make a couple of covers/modifications and so far have not been successful (but will probably keep trying).


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

WoW the cover looks great. I wish I could do that with mine. I have no talent doing someting like that.


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## kevin63 (Feb 10, 2009)

Did you use heat to get the glue soft before you took it off?  You did a great job.  There are many things I like about the Amazon cover but that outer shell is not one of them.  Anyway to list out how you did it?  I'm not good at sewing and I'm not a crafty person at all.  But I do follow directions well.  I'd appreciate anything you can list here.

Thanks.

PS  That's faux snake by the way.  Croc skin scales are a little more uniform. lol


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

That is absolutely beautiful!!!  Great job!

Betsy


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## Neversleepsawink;) (Dec 16, 2008)

Beautiful, love it


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

LunarEarthMama said:


> Here's my Kindle with the Mora skin from Decal Girl. I opted for the Amazon cover because I like the use of the hinges but I didn't care for the "look" so I bought some red faux crocodile/snake? leather off eBay to revamp it. All I did was take off the inner part (it's just glued on), wrapped and glued the outer shell in the red and then glued the inner back on lol. My intention WAS to make good use of my Hello Kitty sewing machine  but then I noticed how easy it was to just use glue lol.
> 
> Anyhow, here are the photos.
> 
> images removed


That is absolutely beautiful and so clever!


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Quite nice. Lots of talent and imagination!


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## MineKinder (Jan 5, 2009)

WOW, you did a beautiful job! I know what everyone means about liking the Amazon covers, sleek slim lines. I also feel that way, but a plain black case it just NOT pretty!


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## KMA (Mar 11, 2009)

It looks great. 

I think I'm coveting your Hello Kitty sewing machine.


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## dollcrazy (Jan 12, 2009)

Wow! That looks Awesome. You did a great job on that.


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## KindleMom (Dec 11, 2008)

Maybe I will steal DH's K2 and cover because that is absolutely gorgeous!

You're so clever!


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

That is great! What a terrific idea. Now I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my Amazon cover. Oh well, it's gone to a good home.

L


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## ELDogStar (Dec 19, 2008)

FUN FUN FUN!
Very nice indeed.

Eric


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## Ruby296 (Nov 1, 2008)

I love it!


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

Please give us some details on what kind of faux leather to buy.  Any pointers?


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## kevin63 (Feb 10, 2009)

DD said:


> Please give us some details on what kind of faux leather to buy. Any pointers?


Ostrich skin would be cool. I have Ostrich boots, belt and wallet. Love them.


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## cincinnatideb (Mar 7, 2009)

DD said:


> Please give us some details on what kind of faux leather to buy. Any pointers?


Yes please! I was pondering what search words to use at Ebay.


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## cincinnatideb (Mar 7, 2009)

Member 24 said:


> That is great! What a terrific idea. Now I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my Amazon cover. Oh well, it's gone to a good home.
> 
> L


Awww Leslie. I just saw this.  I'm sorry.

D


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## magznyc (Oct 28, 2008)

first of all - great job - would it be possible for you to supply the name of the seller on ebay who carries the faux leather you used. i have plans for making a case from a journal cover, but i'd like to keep your solution in my back pocket in case my other case doesn't work out - thanks much!


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## Linda Cannon-Mott (Oct 28, 2008)

That is amazing and so beautiful!! I don't think I have a creative bone in my body.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

cincinnatideb said:


> Awww Leslie. I just saw this.  I'm sorry.
> 
> D


Not a problem, Deb! I never would have gotten around to changing it the way LEM did. Besides, with two beautiful Oberon covers, I am all set. The Amazon cover would have just been sitting there. I am glad you'll be able to use it.

L


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

kevin63 said:


> Ostrich skin would be cool. I have Ostrich boots, belt and wallet. Love them.


In purple?


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Hey all, so glad you like it!!! And thanks for letting me know it IS snake!  Very fitting for the last book I read, Blood Engines. I'm hooked on that series now.

I didn't use any heat to take it apart. I just went straight in pulling it apart, carefully though as to not bend anything too much. I started at a corner and moved along the edges, putting my finger in there and wedging it apart. I'll try to write step by step directions soon with side comments. And I may be able to do this procedure again and take photographs. I don't know why I didn't do that before, maybe because I was too busy trying to keep the glue neat and my fingers clean though. Taking the inner part off would probably be more comfortable by wedging something like a butter knife in there. But I found my fingers were good enough.

The eBay seller I used was *mzschplinky*. You should be able to contact her to ask about different colors of her "moc croc and snake" faux leather for her to put up to sell. I currently don't see the one I bought recently. Looking to see what else is available on eBay or fabric stores will add some variety as well in your choices. I think ostrich would be beautiful! The fabric I got has a white knit backing. I don't know if that makes it easier to apply as a cover or not with the glue. But the fabric has a tiny bit of stretch.

I got my Hello Kitty sewing machine from Target! It's the green one.


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## TM (Nov 25, 2008)

Gorgeous!


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

Nice, nice combo there.


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## ELDogStar (Dec 19, 2008)

Sting Ray skin (real not faux) would be super durable if you can find it.
I have seen it in wallets and checkbooks covers and the like.

Eric (aka ELDogStar)


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Woops, thought I already posted, but must have hit go instead.  If you don't mind a nosy question, how much did the revamp cost you in materials?  It is very impressive, it looks like an expensive case now - love it!


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## ladyvolz (Dec 23, 2008)

Wow, that cover looks beautiful!  I have no talent and NO patience to do something like that.


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## Seamonkey (Dec 2, 2008)

Very impressive!


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## libro (Dec 3, 2008)

Absolutely beautiful!  I wish you had a video to show us how to do that!  I'm so un-crafty, but wish I was skilled in that area.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

LunarEarthMama - You know, you could sell those.  It looks wonderful!

I like the size of the Amazon cover and the hinges, but I HATE the black look.  I would love to be able to do what you did, there's no way I could make it look that neat and nice, you did a great job.


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks all!

Besides buying the cover from Amazon, I spent $20 (price includes shipping) for the fabric on eBay, BUT that was for a whole yard of it. I have so much left.  With a yard, one could cover up to maybe 12 Amazon covers.    Maybe it would be convenient to split fabric will fellow members who like the same color to lower the price a bit.

The liquid stitch bottle that you squeeze is around $4, I'd had that bottle around for years though, finally made good use of it.

I had planned to put on a button with a stretchy loop closure, had gotten epoxy to make the button base set in strong.  But once I saw in person how the button looked with the fabric (didn't really go together like I thought it would), I skipped it all.  If I revamp another one for myself in a different color, I may go ahead with that experiment or if I get some other buttons to add to this red one that look good with it.  The buttons I have now (had to order in set of 4) are really beautiful, intricate glass bohemian but I think a silver button would be best with the red snake.

A video is a good idea, I'll see about doing that.


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## pomlover2586 (Feb 14, 2009)

WOW! That looks like it was done by the manufacturer! Very Nice!


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## Lilly (Dec 14, 2008)

LunarEarthMama is there an almost full-size inner section that the hinge is attached to? Could I take it apart and just slip the inner section into the Oberon journal?  That would save a lot of thickness and weight.  Please let me know and I'll post your answer in the other thread were we are discussing inserting the Amazon cover inside the Oberon journal.


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Lilly, the hinge and spring mechanism is a part of the inner soft shell.  You can easily just glue the inner part to whatever you want as a cover and be happy with the results just as long as it fits in the spine area well and opens and closes with good flexibility.

Trekker, if you have any blue leather fabric you'd like to use, let me know!


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## Lilly (Dec 14, 2008)

LunarEarthMama said:


> Lilly, the hinge and spring mechanism is a part of the inner soft shell. You can easily just glue the inner part to whatever you want as a cover and be happy with the results just as long as it fits in the spine area well and opens and closes with good flexibility.
> 
> Trekker, if you have any blue leather fabric you'd like to use, let me know!


I'm looking at the cover now; how did you take it apart? Did you have to unthread it or just pull it apart?


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## cincinnatideb (Mar 7, 2009)

Lilly said:


> LunarEarthMama is there an almost full-size inner section that the hinge is attached to? Could I take it apart and just slip the inner section into the Oberon journal?


Aha! See I was wondering this too. Would it have to be glued down? Prob. so for stability? I was eye-balling a few other planners I have. They all seem to have full length vertical pockets on the left and right. So I was thinking about kind of a portable hinge insert.

Hmmmm....I'm sooo over thinking this. Obviously I need to go read a Kindle book and quit the overthinking. Hmmmm

Deb


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

There's no unthreading.  The threads that you see in the inner shell will be intact, they are not threaded in the outer shell. I just pulled it apart. Carefully though, don't bend anything.

I personally would want to glue it down for stability, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if y'all think it's okay just slipped in.  Test it out over your bed or something, wiggle it around.  If the vertical pockets are deep and snug enough, seem like it would be okay.


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## Lilly (Dec 14, 2008)

LunarEarthMama said:


> There's no unthreading. The threads that you see in the inner shell will be intact, they are not threaded in the outer shell. I just pulled it apart. Carefully though, don't bend anything.
> 
> I personally would want to glue it down for stability, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if y'all think it's okay just slipped in. Test it out over your bed or something, wiggle it around. If the vertical pockets are deep and snug enough, seem like it would be okay.


One last question before I post your answers in the other thread; What kind of glue did you use?


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Liquid Stitch


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## Lilly (Dec 14, 2008)

Thank you so much LunarEarthMama!!


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## kevin63 (Feb 10, 2009)

Leslie said:


> In purple?


LOL No the boots and wallet are black and the belt is brown. That would be cool though.

I am obsessed with purple. My living room has purple carpet (grape or eggplant or whatever color it is) with white furniture. The furniture is white (it's 13 years old and looks brand new. My friends know to look but don't sit or touch, lol. It's not the only sitting room in the house!) and the walls are white with a light tint of purple in it. You really only see the purple in the walls at night or maybe on a cloudy day. Here's a picture showing a little of it:


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

You're welcome Lilly.  I don't have an Oberon cover though so I'm just going by how easy it is to just stick the inner shell to "anything" really.  The price of the Amazon cover is cheap enough to experiment around without getting too mad if something goes wrong and doesn't turn out right.  The idea of using journals and planners is a most excellent one, they are pretty cheap and come in lots of designs.

Kevin, I like your purple decor! I really like the backs of those chairs.  I'm currently designing my living room in a Hollywood Regency style.  The carved design of the backs are really nice. Your walls sound interesting as well.  I have silver textured metal (applied over wood) furniture in my bedroom, and want to paint the walls with that pearl sheen.  I hope it turns out good.

Trekker, demin is an interesting choice.  I have dark demin available.  I was actually looking at plain velvet or textured velvet before deciding on the faux leather.  Probably lots of different fabrics would make for interesting looks and feels.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

I wonder if 2-faced tape like is used to stick carpet in place would work in place of the glue? It would be easier to remove, if you wanted to do so.


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

I think 2-faced tape is a great idea, it's nice and thin!


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

That's what I was thinking, and might be more reverseable if it didn't work the way you wanted.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

Trekker said:


> I wonder if denim from an old pair of jeans will work? I see Frank from Strangedog has a special one of a kind K2 denim cover for sale on ebay right now.


I kind of like the denim, nice and masculine. I really like the pocket on the back.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

LunarEarthMama, that is such an impressive DIY project.

We've posted your project on the main page of our blog: http://www.kboards.com/blog/2009/03/do-it-yourself-custom-cover/


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## Linda Cannon-Mott (Oct 28, 2008)

Congrats for making the blog LunarEarthMama! We were impressed with your creative project. It is gorgeous.


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

Harvey said:


> LunarEarthMama, that is such an impressive DIY project.
> 
> We've posted your project on the main page of our blog: http://www.kboards.com/blog/2009/03/do-it-yourself-custom-cover/


Wow, LunarEarthMama, you are published! Great project!


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

LunarEarthMama,

Any tips for how you got the corners so neat where the fabric would tend to bunch up?  Was your material thin?  I would think the material shouldn't be to thick or it would present problems.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

^ I was wondering the same thing. It looks total factory (as the hotrod modders say).


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Cooool! I'm flattered! My baby looks good all posted on the blog!    I hope more people will be encouraged to get and revamp their Amazon covers. It really is a great cover, just needs a little decorating!

The fabric needs to be thin yes, but overall more focus will need to be taken on the corners.  Make sure however you do the corners is the same way each time.  There's a few ways you can fold the fabric over the corners, kind of like how there's different styles of wrapping a present I guess. I would play around to see what is preferred and then just make sure you repeat the same style for each corner for everything to be uniform.  And remember just as long as you keep it taut and cut the excess the inner shell will cover up most of the ugly.  Looking back, a tiny dot of quick drying super glue to anchor down the tightness of the corner might be convenient instead of having to wait a little longer for a corner to set in before moving along.

Also, when you take apart the cover, you will get to see how the manufacturer did the corners.  The leather is cut down as much as it needs to be so there is no bunching of fabric at all.  I didn't go that route though, but that is another way to do it if you feel comfortable cutting a bit to the extreme.

When you get your hands on it, pulling it tight and seeing how you'd like to fold and what you need to cut, you'll get use to it.  But yeah the thin fabric makes it easier.

Thanks for having me on your blog! Very cool!


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

LunarEarthMama said:


> Cooool! I'm flattered! My baby looks good all posted on the blog!  I hope more people will be encouraged to get and revamp their Amazon covers. It really is a great cover, just needs a little decorating!
> 
> The fabric needs to be thin yes, but overall more focus will need to be taken on the corners. Make sure however you do the corners is the same way each time. There's a few ways you can fold the fabric over the corners, kind of like how there's different styles of wrapping a present I guess. I would play around to see what is preferred and then just make sure you repeat the same style for each corner for everything to be uniform. And remember just as long as you keep it taut and cut the excess the inner shell will cover up most of the ugly. Looking back, a tiny dot of quick drying super glue to anchor down the tightness of the corner might be convenient instead of having to wait a little longer for a corner to set in before moving along.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the pointers, LunarEarthMama!


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## kevin63 (Feb 10, 2009)

I found a few places to buy some leathers and skins. Some of the sites you can get the skin in lots of colors. Interesting to look at. I love the ostrich skins. The stingray skins are cool too. Hope this doesn't offend anyone.

www.ostrichmarket.com

www.kezie.com

www.LeatherUnltd.com

www.ostrichgoods.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/27/products_id/41


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## kindlefan (Dec 4, 2008)

LEM, if you decided to sell these, I would totally buy one


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

kindlefan said:


> LEM, if you decided to sell these, I would totally buy one


Me too! You make it sound very easy but I would likely mess it up and then I would be sad.


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## MarthaT (Mar 3, 2009)

kindlefan said:


> LEM, if you decided to sell these, I would totally buy one


me too, they are awesome


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## PJ (Feb 25, 2009)

If anyone else does a revamp of their covers please post pictures and tell us how it went.  I was admiring LunarEarthMama's work but I'm not a crafty person so I'm still not sure I could make this look good.  Maybe I will draw my sister into my project


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## traceyreads (Dec 18, 2008)

I love it but I am not a crafty person either! I also would love a cover in Ostrich, if anyone wants the task of revamping my Amazon Cover....


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

I'm going to make a few more of various styles and see how they sell.  Traceyreads, I really like how ostrich looks as well so I'll inquire about getting some of that. What color are you interested in?

Thanks for those wonderful links, kevin63.

What other colors and materials are of interest with you all?  I still have lots of my red available lol.


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## Lizzarddance (Oct 28, 2008)

Very nice!!! I'm going to have to see if I can do something like that for my K1 cover.


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## magznyc (Oct 28, 2008)

i was poking around the net and found this site:
http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/faux-leather-upholstery-fabric.html

which seems to offer a large variety of faux leather fabrics in loads of colors for around the same price as the OP paid - almost all are available by the yard from what i can see - so if, like me, you're toying with the idea of trying out a homemade solution to the K2 case shortage - you may find something here to inspire you. happy gluing!

PS - i should add that i have no experience with this site and cannot answer for their quality or service. i just thought the variety of colors and textures might be of interest. i have ordered a yard for myself so we'll see.


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

kevin63 said:


> I found a few places to buy some leathers and skins. Some of the sites you can get the skin in lots of colors. Interesting to look at. I love the ostrich skins. The stingray skins are cool too. Hope this doesn't offend anyone.
> 
> www.ostrichmarket.com
> 
> ...


Thanks for the links Kev, gives us more choices.


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## cincinnatideb (Mar 7, 2009)

Lunar,

One more question please.  Did you pull the inner shell all the way off?  When I was messing around with mine the hinge/spine was the last thing I took off.  It kind of looked like maybe I wouldn't even need to take it off..it looked easy to work around. I think I'm most worried about reattaching everything even and neat.

What do you think?

Thanks,

Deb


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

cincinnatideb said:


> Lunar,
> 
> One more question please. Did you pull the inner shell all the way off? When I was messing around with mine the hinge/spine was the last thing I took off. It kind of looked like maybe I wouldn't even need to take it off..it looked easy to work around. I think I'm most worried about reattaching everything even and neat.
> 
> ...


Hmmm, I don't know if I understand, but when I pulled the inner shell off, the hinge was still attached to the inner shell. Are you saying your hinge was still glued to the outer shell after you pulled the inner shell off?/That you have 3 separate pieces when you took everything apart? Outer shell, inner shell and hinge mechanism?


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## cincinnatideb (Mar 7, 2009)

LunarEarthMama said:


> Hmmm, I don't know if I understand, but when I pulled the inner shell off, the hinge was still attached to the inner shell. Are you saying your hinge was still glued to the outer shell after you pulled the inner shell off?/That you have 3 separate pieces when you took everything apart? Outer shell, inner shell and hinge mechanism?


No, no...my bad explanation. I just had 2 pieces. But I felt like I didn't want to unglue the very middle. I had gone all around the edges. So 95% of the inner shell had been pulled off/unglued. But I felt like I would rather not undo the very center. Did you take the entire inner shell off? So you had 2 totally seperate pieces?


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## LunarEarthMama (Mar 19, 2009)

Ohhhhhh hahaha, no you explained well, I'm just a little kooky sometimes! Yeah, you can totally leave some of it glued on if you don't mind it when you're recovering the outside. I'm Queen Destructo!


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## ricky (Dec 24, 2008)

kevin63 said:


> I found a few places to buy some leathers and skins. Some of the sites you can get the skin in lots of colors. Interesting to look at. I love the ostrich skins. The stingray skins are cool too. Hope this doesn't offend anyone.


At lunch with some work friends, some of us ordered sandwiches that had portobello mushrooms on them, among other things. One woman had never seen this before and would not touch her food. She said that it "looked like a stingray sandwich!". I haven't been able to eat those mushrooms since......  

Lunar, that is wonderful. I may experiment with my original K1 cover... thanks!


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## Lcky24 (Apr 7, 2009)

I LOVED this idea, after reading the blog it took me about 3 min to decide I needed to do it, and right away! I decided to use a piece of gold silk sheet I had, found some super glue, and in about 10 min i have a silk cover for my kindle 2! It was very quick and easy and I am NOT very crafty, I swear! Anyone can do this, and its a great cheap and easy way to spice up your kindle. Also, check out http://www.3acp.com/3acp.htm for kindle skins, I love mine that I got from them! Don't be afraid to try this project, the worst that happened to me is I got a little superglue on my fingers, but it was totally worth it!! Thanks for the idea!!


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## DD (Nov 9, 2008)

lcky24 said:


> I LOVED this idea, after reading the blog it took me about 3 min to decide I needed to do it, and right away! I decided to use a piece of gold silk sheet I had, found some super glue, and in about 10 min i have a silk cover for my kindle 2! It was very quick and easy and I am NOT very crafty, I swear! Anyone can do this, and its a great cheap and easy way to spice up your kindle. Also, check out http://www.3acp.com/3acp.htm for kindle skins, I love mine that I got from them! Don't be afraid to try this project, the worst that happened to me is I got a little superglue on my fingers, but it was totally worth it!! Thanks for the idea!!


Please post pictures of your new creation! Sounds beaurtiful.


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