Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Laminating Using Clear Contact Paper-Chore Chart & Color Matching

Did you know you can use clear contact paper to laminate at home? I had some things I wanted to reinforce to protect them from little hands. Basically, so they would last more than five minutes. I wanted to be able to laminate any time I wanted without running out to the copy shop. This works great and is easier than I thought.

I saw these cute color matching cards from Homeschool Creations and loved the nice clear photos. I printed them on card stock and then measured out and cut the clear contact paper. I left an excess of about half an inch on each edge so that I would not have to be too careful. Then, I carefully peeled off the backing, put a sheet on each side, and rubbed out any bubbles. Last, I trimmed the edges and cut them up.



I also found this chore chart template over at Controlling My Chaos. Though my little one is a bit young for chores, he loves to help out and I wanted another way to reinforce good behavior. I "laminated" it and now I can add and erase check marks each week. He gets so excited every time he gets a check mark. He signs "more" and says "more checks." Then, I tell him what he get the checks for and tell him another "chore" he can do to get more checks.



I love being able to laminate at a moments notice and it is so much cheaper! When I called the UPS store they said laminating was 99 cents a page. I bought my roll of clear contact paper at Wal-mart for just under $6 and have already laminated 15 pages. It is about half gone. Score!

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for free Tipsy updates via RSS or email.

9 Comments:

Kelly said...

YAY!!!!! I have been trying to convince my hubby that I "need" my own laminator at home...needless to say he hasnt been convinced! I am absolutely going to go get the clear contact paper...woohoo for you! I have been dying to do flash cards just like yours...I also wanted to turn some of those into magnets for the fridge!

The Harris Family said...

We use this all the time and I love it! It holds up really well too. It is such a great tip.

Shan B. said...

I have been trying to figure out where to buy contact paper. You got yours at Wal-mart...what section? I know we don't live in the same state but every time I look...I can't find it. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong section. There's a bunch of stuff that I just want to use contact paper on & not use the laminator at work. Cute stuff.

Carol said...

I just wanted to say Hi and tell you, you have a great blog!
I stumbled upon it while doing a search for a car seat cover tutorial and I'm so glad I did!
Thanks.

Michelle said...

Shannon-
I found it in the kitchen section. There are tons of rolls that look like wallpaper for shelves and this was down by the floor. It is a 12 inch roll.

I cannot believe how much I love this stuff! I want to turn everything in to a reusable file folder game now. :)

Clements Family said...

Love it! I guess I am going to Walmart tomorrow!

licktees said...

the link for the chore chart is sending me to the homeschool color matching cards. i love that chore chart and want one!!

Michelle said...

Licktees and everyone-
So sorry I had the link wrong. That's embarrassing! It is fixed!

Kim Milius said...

My mom did her laminating this way when I was a kid. I was lucky enough that my husband bought me a laminator for our first Christmas after we got married. If you do a lot of laminating, you might check into buying one; so quick & easy! They're not that expensive & mine is still doing a great job after all these years (it will be 11 years old this Christmas).