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Homemade Gift Idea: Laminated Photo Place Mats

November 28, 2010 by Kimberly Danger 2 Comments

A couple of years ago, I made these homemade photo place mats to give the grandparents as a gift for Christmas.  I was able to get the photos free, so my only cost was the paper and the lamination.  They were really easy to make, and Grandma and Grandpa still use them.  Here’s how we did it:

Select a theme for each set of place mats, such as “summer memories,” or “winter wonderland.”  For mine, I chose photos from the beach on a Florida trip.  Or, you could simply cover each place mat completely with photos of a certain family member.  To save even more, look for free photo offers to get your prints for less.

  • New Snapfish Customers Get 50 Free Prints through this link
  • New SeeHere Customers Get 50 Free with promo code: prints-6
  • New Kodak Gallery Customers Get 50 Free premium prints
  • New Clark Color Customers Get 40 Prints through this link
  • New Shutterfly Customers Get 50 Free Prints through this link

Cut a piece of tagboard into a large rectangle (14″ x 20″) or use a place mat that you already have as a design template.   Repeat the process for as many place mats as you’d like to make.  Tagboard can be found at The Dollar Tree for 3/$1.

Next, arrange your photos on the tagboard.  This can be the tricky part, but realize that it doesn’t have to be perfect.   Cover both sides for reversible place mats.  Secure them to the tagboard using a glue stick.  Note:  It’s important to make sure that you don’t use school glue or anything that will cause the photos to bubble up, otherwise you’ll have problems with bubbling after they’re laminated.  I’d recommend also weighting them down with heavy books for a day or two, just to make sure they’re completely flat before laminating them.

To finish, bring them to an office supply store like Staples or Kinkos to be laminated.  This is really the only part of your project where cost adds up, so if you have access to a laminator through work you may really be able to do this project inexpensively.  For me, the cost was $3.00/sq. foot to have them done.  The large ones I made came out to be $6/each, but if we had made smaller ones they would have cost in the $4.50 range.

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Filed Under: Special Occasions Tagged With: gift ideas, diy, photography, photos

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Comments

  1. Amie says

    December 2, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    We made these for Thanksgiving – they were a BIG hit!

    Reply
  2. Wendy says

    December 9, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Love the place mats! But, what is “tag board?” Will the Dollar Tree employees know what this is?
    Thanks!
    ~Wendy

    Reply

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About Mommysavers

Kimberly Danger established Mommysavers.com in March 2000 as a way to channel her creative energy while raising her kids. Initially an online discussion board, the website evolved into a comprehensive platform offering money-saving tips, deals and budget-friendly recipes and tips for frugal moms. Read More…

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