DIY Laminated Placemats

by Sahana

8 Materials

I was looking for placemats wherever I go, I came across a lot of pretty nice ones but they were expensive and at the same time, they were all cloth type placemats which is a lot of maintenance. There were no laminated placemats with pretty patterns or colors, mostly they were with graphics like fruits or some kind of antique pictures.(At least in the places where I shopped). I had some large laminate sheets which came with the laminator and I have never used it. They were in the size of placemats.So I thought why not make our own. Here is how I made

diy laminated placemats, crafts, dining room ideas, how to, tools

Mark 11"X 17" on the poster board using ruler and pencil. Cut them using scissors. You will get three pieces per poster board. I used black poster board to match my dining table. The black poster board had some white edges which I trimmed using scissors.

Cut your designs on bulletin board paper using scissors or any electronic cutting machine. I used copy paper settings to cut designs in silhouette cutting machine.

Using another poster board to create patterns on the top of the base was not a good idea as it creates gaps around the patterns after laminating which was not appealing.(Refer the picture below). There was something called bulletin board paper near the poster board section in Hobby lobby which was less in thickness compared to poster board and also came in 2ft x 4ft roll. So I used that paper to create designs on the top of black poster board.

Once you have your designs cut glue them to the poster board using any paper glue. I used adhesive roller to secure the designs. I made them as double sided with geometric patterns on one side and floral designs on the other side.

Keep them in between the laminate sheet and heat your laminator. Once it is ready, pass them through the rollers.That's it. Your laminated placemat is ready!!

Hope this inspires to make your own laminated placemats. These are very easy to use and maintain. And are totally customizable. You can use your own artwork as placemats or your child's artwork . I learnt a few things that I wish I know before making these placemats.To know what they are, click the blog link below.