29 October 2012

Fairytale Placemats


These are so cute, and so easy to make - placemats made from old storybooks. We have dozens of storybooks, relics of the kids' early childhood. Some of them are a little worse for the wear. These were their favourites, the books that have been read and read so often that we can all still recite the stories from memory. Sadly though, some of the most loved books are really beyond being useful as books. They are falling apart, some have torn pages and others have missing pages.

These are the books that can be turned into fairytale placemats. Using pages from old books, a sheet of plain paper and a laminator you can create beautiful children's placemats. Personalize them with the child's name and give them as gifts - perhaps with a copy of the actual story.

You will need:
Pages from an old story book - make sure the pages face each other so the sentences make sense
A Stanley knife
1 sheet A 3 craft paper
Glue dots
1 A3 laminating sheet
laminator


Step 1.  Select the two pages that you want on your placemat.  Carefully cut them out using a Stanley knife. Make sure to cut right down the binding so that you don’t lose any of your picture. Trim the edges to make them even.

Step 2.  On the piece of A3 paper, add a border and the child's name. You can do the design on the computer and have it printed at an office supply store or print shop, but that will cost a few dollars. Use stencils and stickers to create a suitable design yourself.

Step 3.  Centre the storybook pages in the centre of the design. When you have them exactly right, use a drop of glue or a glue tab in each corner to hold them in place on the paper.

Step 4.  Place the paper in the laminating sheets and run them through the laminator.

Don't have a laminator? That's OK, print shops and office supply stores will laminate an A3 sheet for just a couple of dollars. 

Don't want to go out? DIY laminating is easy - just lay your sheets between two layers of clear contact, sticky sides together and gently press down. Then put the laminated sheet on a firm surface and run over it with a rolling pin.

If you don't have a large sheet of card or paper, just laminate the storybook pages. They look just as cute and kids will love them.

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