DIY Laminated Placemats

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.(Atleast 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 Plant Markers

When I visited my friend, while watering her plants she was telling me that I have planted so and so seeds in so and so pots and she said she wasn't sure about some of the them. So, I thought I will make her some plant markers so there is no confusion next time when she sow her seeds. It also helps her to take proper care of the plants which is growing not as expected. I am challenging myself to not go to the craft store and hoard more supplies but to create as much DIY projects as I can with the supplies I already have at home. So, let see what I used to make these plant markers.

Materials Required :
White Card stock
Computer
Printer
Scissors
Laminator
Hot glue
Plastic knives

Step 1: Download images of the plants you want to make plant markers with transparent background(PNG Image) from the website which offers free download. I took most of images from pngimg.com and also from other websites which offers images only for personal use(Which means you cannot distribute them or use them in items for sale).So please check the disclaimer and use accordingly.

Step 2: Open the images in any photo editing software and add names on the top of the images. Here I will show you how to do in Picmonkey.com . Go to Picmonkey.com . Open a blank white canvas of A4 size (select Design - Custom - Enter 2480X3508 pixels).

Step 3: Click the Butterfly symbol(Overlay) on the left(4th icon from the top) and select "Your Own" to add the images you downloaded. Arrange them in the order you want. 

Step 4: Now select "Geometric" in the same window and add white rectangles on the top of the each image. To maintain the same size, select the first rectangle you have created- right click on it -Select duplicate overlay. You will now get another rectangle of same size. Repeat the steps and create rectangle(Labels) for all the plants.

Step 5: To add the names, select "Tt" icon on the left and add the names for each plant in your desired font. Save the image and print it in white card stock.

Step 6: You can now cut it along the border of each image , laminate and cut it again or you can laminate the whole page and cut it along the border. I tried both the ways and it worked the same.So it is up to you to decide. Now you should have all the image laminated and cut along the borders.

Step 7: Add a line of hot glue on the back of each image and stick a knife to it to create stem. I used plastic knives as I wanted something that lasts longer. Many have said that wood sticks will rot eventually so I thought plastic is the best bet. You can also use other sticks like Pop sticks. Allow it to dry and your DIY plant markers are now ready to use. 

Hope you enjoyed this simple project. Do you do gardening?? Share what you think about these plant markers in the comment below. As always I will be happy to hear from you.

Gold Foil Wall Art using Laminator

I won a laminator in a scotch brand contest last year for the pendant lamp that I made . From the time I received the prize ,I am constantly brainstorming ideas to use the laminator. You can see one of those ideas here where I used laminator for personalizing cakes. Next I came across this gold foiling technique in Pinterest and I wanted to try this.Because you know , how much I love adding gold to my works (If you are new here, browse through my projects to know me better :)). Let see how.

Materials Required :

Laser Print of your desired wall art

Laminator

Gold foil

A Cardstock

A Paper to use above the print as carrier 

Frame

Craft Knife

Double sided tape 

Step 1: Take a laser print of the wall art you want to add gold foil . I just googled the image I am using.You can also look for some free printable of your favorite quote in Pinterest.

Step 2: Decide the area you want to add gold foil and cut the gold foil to the required size. If you are planning to add the gold foil to the entire page then cut the foil to your paper size and ensure it covers  the entire area. The quality of the golf foil is very important to this experiment. When I was planning for this experiment, I came through "Martha Stewart's foil" in different colors in the clearance aisle and purchased two packs in different colors. When I tried the experiment it was a total fail , the foil did not stick to the print instead the result was as if glitter was sprinkled. (I should have known ,when it was in clearance ,poor me.Anyways lesson learnt! ) I don't want to give up this experiment ,so I ordered a new pack of gold foil in eBay and proceeded with the experiment. 

Step 3: Place the foil above the print in such a way that gold part should facing above. Place a paper (any kind of paper, I used normal blue paper so that you can see clearly but you can use a regular copy paper ) above the foil and switch on the laminator. Once it is ready, pass it through the laminator. The paper acts as a carrier and protect the foil from the heat. 

Step 4: Once the paper comes out, leave it cool for a couple of seconds. Use a card and go above the foil once to ensure the foil sticks nicely to the print and remove the foil. (I was too excited to see whether it is working or not, so I just peeled the foil without smoothing it but I think smoothing will be helpful to avoid the spots of the prints peeking through the foil.) What is your result ? Mine was not perfectly gold foiled because you can see the little spots of the prints through the foil.But for me , thats okay compared to my previous experiment. Because I think when I frame this, the spots will not be noticeable.As I said , when you are trying this technique ,try the smoothing technique before removing the foil and let me know how it worked for you. 

Step 5: I laminated the gold foiled sheet, but this is totally optional. To make it look like a store bought wall art, you need to make some finishing touches. To create a border for the wall art , take a patterned card stock or plain card stock of your choice .Use the sheets inside the frame as template. Measure equal distance from the corner on all four sides and mark it with the pencil. Use craft knife to cut the center part and create a border. Use double sided tape on the back side of the inside corner of the border and stick the wall art.

Step 6: Place the wall art inside the frame and the card board that came with the frame. Use the edge of the scissors to secure the cardboard in its place . The frames I used are from dollar stores. That's it! the Wall art is now ready to hang!! 

For just a couple of dollars , you can make beautiful wall art for any space in your home. These are great even for dorm rooms.There are also other alternatives like adhesives designed specifically for attaching foil to any project. You can try that method if you don't have a laminator . If you don't want to add gold foil, you can simply omit that step and follow the remaining steps to create a wall art of your choice. What do you think ? Have you tried making a wall art or gold foiling before ? Share your comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you. 

Make your homemade cakes personalized with laminator

Do you bake cake at home ?? Has Icing letters on the cake always been a challenge ?? It has been a great challenge for me.I enjoy icing designs but when it comes to writing I always screw up in some or the other way.So, I found an easy way to make the cake look more personalized than just writing "Happy Birthday XXX" or whatever the occasion may be.Ready? Today I will show you that easy way to personalize your cake.

Materials Required :
A photo printed on normal copy paper
Laminator
Scissors
Laminating Pouch
Clear tape
Bamboo skewer
Cardstock
Markers
Any colored thread or cord

Step 1:  Cut the outline of the photo you want to put on the cake using scissors. As I made a simple cake ,I chose a standing pose but you can go one step ahead and make it more creative .For example, if the birthday boy/girl is a sports person you can design a cake as a playground and put a picture of them playing in the ground. In this scenario , you can make two copies of the same photo (print one of the photo flipped) so that you can put wrong sides of the photo together when laminating and when done you will get photo on both the sides.(What do you think??)

Step 2: Keep the cut photo inside the laminating pouch and laminate as per the instruction of the laminator.

Step 3: Now cut the photo in laminated sheet leaving 1/8" on the border.Use clear tape to secure the bamboo skewer at the back of the laminated photo. Use the skewer to put the photo on the cake.

Step 4: Cut small triangles from cardstock and spell each word (according to the occasion) in a triangle using marker and attach it to the rope with clear tape. I used a red cotton waxed cord here.Or you can punch tiny holes on either side of the triangle and string them into the rope.Then tie the rope to the bamboo skewer. Adjust the height of the bunting so that it is not hidden behind the photo.And then you are done !! Once the cake cutting is done , you can remove the bamboo skewer and attach a magnet to use it as fridge magnet. (Double treat!! )

How easy is this idea compared to the Icing the letters?? Share what you think about this idea in the comments below. As always I will be happy to hear from you.If you want to know what recipe I followed and my first baking experience, click here.