Comic Place Mats, Coasters, and More

You've probably never thought about how many comic strips you've thrown away in your life and that's a good thing. Otherwise, you'd be sad to know that you were also throwing away fun decorator items for your home. One such comical accent you can quickly create is a funny paper place mat. You can take your favorite Sunday comics, and enjoy them over and over again, without having to pick up the newspaper each time. Make a large mat for the center of a table, smaller ones as place mats, or really little ones to use as coasters.

It's fun to read the comics and, when you're done, cut them out of the paper. Save several of these to make each mat you want. There are different ways to make the mats and you can choose which one you like the best - or create your own design.

One way to make a place mat or table mat is to start with a piece of scrapbook paper, construction paper, or another type. Use clear tape to stick the comic strips to the paper. Align them in rows, make a border with them, or just cut each square from the strip, and place them randomly on the paper.

When the comic strips are displayed the way you want, use clear shelf liner to cover them. Cut two pieces to be the size of the paper then peel and stick one to the front, and one to the back. Trim around the edges if needed. Make coasters in the same manner.

You have zillions of options for making assorted comic strip mats and coasters. You can make sets that feature only one comic, or sets with characters from many different comic strips. You can make a border with comic strips, then just cut conversation bubbles from strips, and put them in the space inside the border. Make place mats with only conversation bubbles, mats with only characters' faces, or even mats with only cartoon pets.

You don't absolutely have to make the mats and coasters using Sunday comics. You can use a comic book - but not a valuable one - or even cut characters and such from a children's magazine. You can even add other elements to the mats, like colored tape, stickers, paper cutouts, and similar things.

The comic strip place mats are very unique and really cheap to make. Whether you're having breakfast, lunch, or supper, you'll have it with a smile.