After shelling out all that cash for your MacBook Pro, we figured you could use an idea for making your own bag.

From "Make Your Mac Your Own," Mac|Life magazine, Feb/07, page 29

There are almost endless options when it comes to cool, colorful, sturdy cases for your 'Book. But pulling out your credit card isn't all that creative. We hereby dare you to roll up your sleeves and make something truly unique - like a custom-created satchel for your 'Book. Made of duct tape. (Don't laugh! Did you know you can buy duct tape in colors other than silver?)

1. It Takes More Than Tape

OK, you do need more than just an industrial-size roll of duct tape. You need some structure for the case. Use an oversized piece of thin flexible plastic or corrugated cardboard. To build a standard man-purse-style bag with a foldover flap, add a couple inches to the total width of your 'Book and measure almost three times the height (that is, the narrower of the two dimensions). Score the edges that will form the flap, sidewalls, end walls, and bottom. Wrap the cardboard in a few layers of tape, applied in alternate directions to ensure full coverage inside and out. Fold the bag's corners in and tape them all into position.

2. Slap on the Strap

To ensure the strap's sturdiness, we recommend using a thin swatch of woven nylon (like the material used for straps on store-bought bags). Otherwise, you can fashion the strap completely from duct tape folded gate-style onto itself and layered to the desired thickness. Make the strap long enough to encircle the case completely, and then tape it securely to the outer bottom and side edges.

3. Wrap It Up

After adding the strap, apply the final layers of tape. This part is art, not science (aw heck, this whole thing is pretty much an artistic endeavor). We alternated vertical strips of tape with horizontally wrapped layers, leaving the top flap with a little less tape than the bag's body. Remember, if you screw up, just cover it up with more tape.

4. Built-In Backup

Wrap some leftover tape around the front or rear base of the strap so you'll always have some duct tape handy to fix your car - or fraying tape ends or seams on your new custom 'Book bag. Extra credit for snazzy racing stripes.

Here’s the template we used for the bag’s internal structure (aka cardboard from the recycling bin). This one is kinda small, but you can download a bigger version by clicking here.