Customized place mats
Difficulty: Easy
Parental supervision is recommended
Make each guest feel special at your next dinner party with these Customized place mats. This scrapbooking craft can be either customized for holidays or personalized for each place setting.
What you'll need:
- Paper towels (one or two sheets depending on desired size)
- Old greeting cards, calendars, and/or magazine pages
- Clear self-adhesive Con-Tact paper
- Scissors (pinking or scalloped type would even be more fun)
- Optional: Colored construction paper for cutting out letters
for names (if you choose to personalize them) - Some paper lace, bits of ribbon, pressed leaves, etc. could also be added to your collage.
How to make it:
- Pick a theme for your place mat. Examples include: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday, Get Well, Happy Anniversary, Easter, Spring, Fall, Winter, Summer, You're Special, I miss you, I love butterflies, Dogs are my specialty, etc.
- Cut out pictures from used greeting cards, calendars, or magazine pages related to your theme. A variety of sizes and shapes will add character to each place mat. Optional: Sometimes I added a saying or scripture verse to mine.
- Cut out the letters of your names from the colored construction paper, if desired.
- Lay your paper toweling on a flat surface.
- Arrange the pictures face up on the paper towel until you are satisfied with your design. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE ABOUT 3/4 INCH BETWEEN EACH PICTURE OR LETTER.
- Carefully peel off the backing of the clear Con-Tact paper and line up the edge of the Con-Tact paper with the edge of the paper toweling.
- Slowly press the Con-Tact paper over the top of the paper toweling and your arrangement of pictures and letters, etc. carefully smoothing it out as you go.
- Try to work out all the air bubbles you can.
- Optional: Another layer of Con-Tact paper on the bottom side of your place mat with make it last longer. Before adding this piece, consider another arrangement for this side to make it a reversible place mat.
- Trim the edge of your place mat with your scissors.
- Try these out with cookies and milk.
Tips:
These place mats can be used for any holiday feast, birthday and/or anniversary celebration, for dressing up your everyday meals, or for cheering up someone that may be in bed under the
weather. You can even personalize them by adding a name to them. (This idea will also work as covers for scrapbooks.) The end result can be as fancy or as simple as you make it.
