How to Make Your Own Place Mats

Making your own place mats is a good thing to do as it instills a sense of individuality into each one, and also serves to make the place mat user feel that little bit more special, as they have made it by themselves.

What you will need to make your own place mat:

Some sheets of ply wood (approximately 8 inches x 12 inches, one for each family member)

Some paint

Some sand paper

Some old magazines

Some old photos

Some glue, and

Some varnish (to seal the finished place mat)

To start this project, you will firstly need to decide what sort of design you want to go on your place mat. In this article you have the choice of painting your own creation, cutting out some pictures from old magazines, or (with Mum or Dads permission), and cutting up some old photos. The last two methods can be classified as either collage or decoupage. So, having decided which medium you want to use. If you are going to paint your own design, it would be best to sketch the design out on paper first, to make sure it is exactly what you want. When you are happy with the result, trace your design onto a piece of ply wood, then start coloring it in with the various paints you have access to.

Once you have finished with the painting of your own place mat, put it to one side so the paint can dry; this can take some time depending on what the weather is like (hot or cold), and what sort of paint you have used (acrylic or enamel). Once your place mat has dried, it is time to seal it with the varnish. Get Mum or Dad to help with this, as every corner and side needs to be sealed.

If you have decided on pictures, or photos, cut out the ones that you will want to use. Start placing them on your sheet of ply wood until you have them arranged in a way that you really like. Now for the fun part, you get to glue them into place in the way you wanted. Once you have finished gluing the pictures, you will need to put the place mat to one side, until the glue dries. When the glue is dry, it is time to seal it with the varnish. Get Mum or Dad to help with this, as every corner and side needs to be sealed. This is to make the place mat entirely water proof.