Placemats!

Hi everyone!  It's the second week of the MDS Blog Hop!  Fun!  I hope you have been checking them out.  This week we are showing "what we are working on".  I am working on place mats.  I love the custom sizes feature in  MDS and have used it often when making items to have printed out at specialty print shops or office supply shops.  Have you checked out this feature?  When you open a project in MDS, you have the option to choose from a selection of pre-sized pages or cards, but you can also click "custom" and choose the height and width of your project.  My husbands has a printer in his office that prints 11 x 17 for plan drawings, so I use this size often.  It is the perfect size for place mats!  You can keep the place mats paper only, and consider them disposable, a fun idea for a class, with places for customers to take notes, or a business meeting.  You can also print and laminate this size at places like Staples, Office Max, or Office Depot.  They have two different thicknesses of laminate, I go with the thicker.

 

This is what the custom size options screen looks like.  Enter your desired width and height, then click "create project".

I have also used the custom size option to print out Avery labels to decorate bridal shower favors and to make custom notebooks at Vista Print.  There are so many options out there, check out the print options at the Office supply stores near you, or online shops.  If you are a business person, you can create custom notebooks, binder covers, and more.  Moms can make all sorts of things for the kids.  Chore charts, menu planning, behavior charts, homework charts, and Place mats!!   

It was really easy to print the place mats out.  We are running low on ink so I had them printed at Office Depot.  I save the project to my desktop, then inserted a flash drive into my computer and copied the projects to the flash drive.  I took it into Office Depot, and they printed and laminated them for me in about 15 minutes!  They offered me standard paper or heavy weight card stock.  Because I was going to choose the heavy laminate, I had them printed onto standard paper.  If you are going to print both side, the heavier weight option is better.  And, after I was there and he offered me the heavier weight, I realized I could have made a two sided project, maybe something for the kids to color on the other side, with dry erase markers?  Next time I will make a double sided place mat for sure!! While I waited I browsed the aisle where I found some cute office supplies. 

  Here are some other place mats that I have made.  This one is for Zachary to practice his handwriting.

We get out the place mats for eating, drawing, watercolors, and playdough.  They get a lot of use in our house. Why not give them a try?

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope I have inspired you to make some custom sized projects!