Christmas Card Placemats

Yes, I did in fact look at my calendar today.
And yes, it does say, February 6th.
But I just finally got around to somewhat finishing these
and thought that maybe if you were like me
you've got your old Christmas cards and photos in a box
collecting dust, because you never know when you might
want to look at them again.

But let's get real people.
Do we really look at them again?
Okay, maybe once in a blue moon,
but not enough to warrant boxes of cards
stacked up with no where to go.

I've got an idea to get rid of some of the clutter
without losing the cards or precious images of family and friends.

What you'll need:
your cards,
a square punch,
some cardstock
and double sided tape or glue stick
and a scissors

Punch out your favorite part of the card.
Punch out faces from the photos
and I just kept some photos the way they were
and worked with them that way.
Line up 2 8.5x11 pieces of cardstock
and place a big strip of double sided tape down.
(I started in the lower right corner)
Then just place your cards and images on
however you choose.
I tried to keep photos away from each other
so that they would stand out more.
Then trim the edges
take it to Kinkos or Office Max and have it laminated.
(I haven't done that yet, I'll get there eventually)
Pack away the nice FLAT reminder of your family and friends
with your Christmas decorations and
each year pull out your placemats for Christmas dinner.
How much fun will these be in 10 years when you're eating
dinner and looking at faces of people who
"were so little" or are no longer with us.

I ended up with 5 from 2008 alone.
I'm still working on 2009.
Once I have both years done I'll get them laminated and packed away!

Oh and I'm planning on writing the year and the names of the people
in the photos on the back....
I have my mom's memory...horrible!