I have a love/hate relationship with children’s books.
I love books.
I hate books that are on their last leg with torn pages, marked up illustrations (courtesy of the current toddler) and broken spines.
But, it is so hard to pitch books. Especially books with memories attached. And we all know how easily we {and our children} attach memories to their books.
Well, I ran across a great idea over at The Homeschool Chick the other day and had to try it!
Storybook Placemats!
So, while I had my handy-dandy contact paper out from the assignment card project, I decided to make these!
It was not hard to choose which book needed to be upcycled. Bear’s Curiosity Book has been with us a long time. When my oldest son was a tiny little guy, he would pour over that book and pretend he lived within the book’s pages. Every child after him has done likewise.
And the book had begun to show it’s age.
It was coming apart at the binding. Pages were torn. Purposeful toddler hands armed with permanent marker had decorated it’s cover. It was a sad, sad book, yet we loved it.
When the children were busy in another room, I quickly went to work. {Yes, dismemberment of favorite books is sometimes best left for a mother to do alone}
This is a large book, so it took a lot of contact paper to do 5 placemats (poor Garin didn’t get one because this was all I could salvage from the book). The best way to do this is to
1. Cut a piece of contact paper for both the front and the back.
2. Peel off the back of one of the pieces of contact paper and lay the pages you want to preserve FACE DOWN. If you are not very, super, extra careful with contact paper, you will end up with bubbles and ridges, so laying the front side out first keeps you from having any of these issues with the side that matters most. Also, don’t forget to place the books pages in the correct order. The one in the picture is NOT in the correct order. The kids noticed right away, but thankfully, it is a section that doesn’t require you to read from left to right and they quickly forgave my faux pas. 😉
3. Peel backing off the second layer of contact paper and be VERY, EXTRA, SUPER CAREFUL to lay it just right on the back side of the pages. Start in the middle if you can and work your way out, gently pressing out bubbles as you go. And word of caution, contact paper has static cling, so if you get anywhere near the other piece of contact paper, they will suck together! There is a little window of opportunity where you can unstick and restick, but not much, so be very, extra, super…well, you get the idea!
4. Trim edges and enjoy!
It warmed my heart to watch my children sitting at the dining room table tracing the pages of the book, talking about their memories, and laughing over new memories.
All this has me wondering how many placemats a family might need…..
Clara says
What a brilliant idea!! 🙂
briana says
Super great and cute idea! I need to get some clear contact paper so I can make some.
Melody says
How cool! What a great idea!!! Thanks!!!
Erin Rosfeld says
What a fantastic idea! I have a couple of books we might have to try this with. Too bad it won’t work with cardboard books. 🙁
But this would be really nice to even do and let little hands play with too.
Becky says
I too am wondering just how many placemats this family might need. It is such a cute idea.
Sandi says
What a great idea. I have my contact paper out tonight laminating for work (file) boxes. The first time we have tried them…I think they may work for my middle guy.
I have a few books on their last leg and my 2 year old would love the placemats…he always asks for a book while he is eating anyway.
Molly says
what an awesome idea!! I passed by some contact paper today at the store and thought of you. I’m definitely going to to this one!!
Amy says
It’s addictive I tell you! Thanks for thinking of me! lol
allison says
what a great idea, i love it!
Corrie says
I love this! I’m thinking the resident 2 year old here might like to play with placemats like this during school time. wipe off markers, reusable stickers…the ideas are flowing! thanks for the inspiration.
Ashley says
Awesome Idea! Will have to do this now! Oh, and I just saw your “Pin It!” Button! LOVE IT! 🙂
Amy says
Pin it is seriously addictive! lol
Tami Lewis says
what a great idea ! thank you!
Timedess says
Amy– what a neat idea! I’ve used clear contact paper for so MANY things in our home-school journey.
I have an idea that might help with the “how many placemats does one family need?” question. What about punching holes in the laminated pages and using either a 3-ring binder, or one of those “o-ring” things like for the wipe-off lesson cards to attach the pages together? I’ve been known to laminate entire books that way, or remove them from the binding and put them in 3-ring binders. Helps them last longer!
Amy says
Aha! Good idea!
karyn says
Great idea – we currently have a toddler who is particularly bad about ripping books – I hope this will translate into being a wonderful reader one day! Anyhow, I saw another similarly cool idea at a coffee shop. They had an old beat-up chest that they had covered with pages from children’s books and then covered with, I guess it was polyurethane or something. Talk about a keepsake.
Amy says
That’s a neat idea!
Teresa says
Never though of using for books. I have done this with maps. The kids love looking at the world while they eat and seeing where everything is. We have a huge world map on our dining room wall, and have all the missionaries we know written by the country they serve. Great way to remind us to pray for them.
Amy says
We used to do this, but our new home doesn’t have any really wall space in the dining room. Great idea, though!
Eve @ InchwormChronicles says
I love this idea! What a creative solution to keeping those sweet picture book memories around *and* brightening the dining table. Thank you for sharing this! (Mentally adding to fun project list)
Gail @ The Imperfect Housewife says
I love this idea! I also hate throwing books away when they seem to torn to do anything with! I’m definitely going to have to do this! Thanks for sharing!
Heather @ Raising Mighty Arrows says
Amy, what a neat idea. I love it! 🙂
Sherri says
Fantastic idea to do with books, I have used old cards that I have received from special people in my life that I wanted to remember but needed a good way to do so. Also idea to do with childrens art work for Grandparents for Christmas/birthday gifts.
Amy says
I love the card idea! 🙂
Betty says
Oh cool. I have many children’s books I could do this with…Thanks!!
Sandra says
Great idea. Odd, because just about two hours ago a friend of mine just gave me the idea of doing this with some of the children’s artwork. She said it makes great gifts for grandparents, etc.
Reggie says
Absolutely love this idea! We too have a beloved book (It’s the Bear!) that has seen a few too many little hands. My children will adore this! Thank you!!!