Placemat Confession

If I'm totally honest with myself, the fact that I spent my evening making placemats may be the biggest sign I've had in a while that I need a boyfriend. The placemats turned out pretty cute though. Growing up we had these plastic placemats that you could just wipe down when you were done with them. I think mine had ballet positions on it. I think APP's had dinosaurs. I'm trying to remember if AMFP had one but I  think he just inherited the dinosaurs (sorry, third child). Actually now that I'm thinking about it, those placemats may have been made of foam. Regardless, they were the inspiration for this project. 


I bought two sheets of pretty, artsy paper at Paper Source. The first one I had laminated whole and hung in the kitchen as a backsplash. I have always wanted a backsplash (obviously) but have not yet lived somewhere that installing your own tile was acceptable. 

The second sheet of pretty paper I decided to use for wipeable, everyday placemats. The man at Kinkos discouraged me from laminating this sheet though as he thought the design printed on it might melt. I remembered though, perhaps from some 2nd grade art project, that contact paper exists and might work just as well. A quick google search of children's craft projects confirmed that this was a viable option. I ordered some contact paper from Amazon (sign #2 of the day I need a boyfriend) and went to work. 

After cutting the paper into four pieces, I cut out eight slightly larger pieces of contact paper. Laying out the paper while trying not to let the edges all stick together was probably the hardest part. 

After encasing each sheet of paper, I trimmed the edges on each side. I left about 3/4 inch on each side to make a nice border and because the sheets of paper I had to work with weren't quite placemat size.

 Finished product:

So that's how I spent my evening. And I cooked fish and veggies in parchment paper for the first time and it was absolutely delicious. I will definitely be doing that again.


Update on the mens: I had a running date with the guy from the bicycle. Btw, he needs a nickname. Suggestions? It was actually a really fun first date, at least when I wasn't gasping for air. I should be seeing him again this weekend.