This process came to fruition before I attended Burning Man this past year. For those of you unfamiliar with Burning Man, you should definitely check out the website at www.burningman.com. Suffice it to say that it's a huge party/gathering/campout in the middle of Nevada but yet so much more than that. You have to be prepared going to this place for a week where the only convenience offered is a porta pottie. You cannot buy anything so all survival essentials must be brought in with you. The tradition is also to bring some kind of gift to trade with people or just give away. No buying or selling is done by the people who put on Burning Man, but Burners will make a point of having something cool to use as a commodity. Hence the kickass lighter was born.
Materials
BIC lighter
Scissors
Packing Tape
Magazine
Basically we're going to find an interesting or notable picture and place it on the lighter in such a fashion that the lighter looks as if it came directly from BIC like that. BICs are higher quality lighters and their smooth curved casing is ideal for the following.
Step 1 - Create a template
Using some sort of paper thicker than a magazine works best. Place the lighter on the paper and mark the height of it with a pen/pencil. Now cut out the strip of paper with the same height. Wrap that around the lighter and note the point where the paper circles entirely around the lighter and then overlaps by about a half-inch. Now cut off the excess paper and you have your template.
Step 2 - Peruse magazines
The kind of magazine you're using is going to necessarily dictate how your lighter turns out. Find some out there art magazines, a High Times or a National Geographic. With template in hand, start looking for that stunning image, using the template to frame the picture as it will appear on the lighter. Things that are taken out of context or completely juxtaposed will grab a lot of attention. Once you've found it, cut the image out with the help of the template.
Step 3 - The Final Product
Cut two pieces of the packing tape so that they are about an inch longer than the circumference (not the height) of the lighter. Now lay one down on a clean surface with the sticky side up. Carefully line up the top of your image over the tape and then press down (the side you want to see being stuck to the tape) on top of it so about a half-inch of tape is exposed on either side. Now lay down the second piece of tape and do the same thing except with the bottom side of the image. The tape will overlap but it will be barely noticeable. Now you have what looks like a perfectly laminated image with tape sticking a half inch off of both ends.
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| | | |
| t | | t |
| a | IMAGE | a |
| p | | p |
| e | | e |
| | | |
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Step 4 - Application
Line up the final product so that the top and bottom are completely parallel with the lighter's. If you're off even the slightest degeree, the final product will be off kilter when its wrapped around the lighter. When you have it lined up perfectly go ahead and press down on one side of the final product's tape. I like to use my lips to do this as both hands are occupied keeping the final product lined up with the lighter. Now, carefully wrap the image around the lighter tightly and press down on the other side of the tape to finish. Remember that we created the template about a half inch longer than the circumference of the lighter, so the image will overlap itself slightly. Just be aware of this when you're picking your images.
Now you have a kickass lighter that you can either give to people or use as a conversation piece at parties. You don't necessarily have to use magazine pictures, but they seem to work best. You can even personalize your lighter by using original art. For the stoners out there, my friend did this except substituted two potleafs for the magazine image. Mine, on the other hand, has Homer Simpson kicking back, leaning against a wall with his hands over his head, and a suave look on his face. The back says Mad Pride. It takes a little practice to get the application just right, but when you do you'll have a professional, eye-catching, kickass lighter.