Laminated!

I bought a laminator the other day.

I know, I know – frivolous purchase right?

Well, I did a bit of research before purchasing to see if there were several projects that could be made using it (above and beyond the single purpose I wanted it for) and there are!  There are LOTS – so it went from being a “well…. maybe…” to a “I have to have one!”

Let me show you a few;

the obvious – laminated checklists

Less wasted paper if the girls can just use a dry erase marker to check off their chores each week right?

I showed you how to make a photo keychain a year or so ago using an empty gift card, some mod podge and spray varnish…

THIS is even easier!  Place an empty gift card between two photos and laminate, then punch a hole through the top corner for a brag-worthy keychain.

What about luggage tags?  Seems everyone and their grandmother has black suitcases at the airport – make yours easy to find by creating your own, laminated, luggage tags!

You can differentiate your kid’s hockey bags from everyone else in the locker room, or give a bit of personality to a team bag.  Make them smaller and use them as zipper fobs as well.

I’m always hesitant to have my home address on a luggage tag – seems a bit risky to announce that your house is empty that way.  Instead, I prefer to use my business card as a luggage tag; it has pertinent contact information, without giving an exact location.  I laminated my card leaving a long tail of clear plastic and then threaded it with ribbon.

Is someone in your household heading off to school?  A laminated list of laundry tips from Tidy Mom will help them survive freshman year (of school or marriage).

I think it’s important to have an emergency contact list in a few places around the house.  Print these off from Grace & Good Eats, laminate them and put them next to each phone.

If you have any end-of-summer road trips coming up, you’ll want to make a few of these Car Bingo cards from Everyday Reading:

There is a different board on the front and back of each and they are laminated for multiple sibling challenges.  Tuck them behind your seat with a marker and keep the kiddos quiet (at least for awhile).

Having a laminator will take your Filofax or planner to the next level!  Check out this idea I found on Etsy:

My Dad had this great idea for creating a credit-card sized listing of his prescriptions and dosages.  We laminate it and he tucks it into his wallet in case of emergencies.

Something like this:

(This is just a random listing I found online – not his at all.  Frankly, if you needed all of these medications, you might be better off dead?)

My 100Things2Do Before Christmas checklist is seeing a lot of action over on Pinterest lately (in July?!?), so I thought it might be another checklist to have laminated to tuck in with your Christmas decor.  You can bring it out each year without having to remember what amazingly awesome website you found it on.

Recipe cards – need I say more?  How many times have you dribbled or spattered on a treasured recipe?  By laminating them, you can not only save the recipe itself, but the handwriting of the person that gave it to you (a treasured keepsake from Grandma?)

These are just a few of the items I hadn’t planned on using my laminator for…  wait until you see what I DID want it for…

Have a great one!