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 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.
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!
We use this all the time and I love it! It holds up really well too. It is such a great tip.
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.
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.
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. 🙂
Love it! I guess I am going to Walmart tomorrow!
the link for the chore chart is sending me to the homeschool color matching cards. i love that chore chart and want one!!
Licktees and everyone-
So sorry I had the link wrong. That’s embarrassing! It is fixed!
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).