This first one I am super excited about: flannel board stories! A set of Book of Mormon stories cost hundreds of dollars if you purchase them pre-made, but I am making them for about 30-40 bucks. Not super cheap, but definitely cheaper than on-line. Just a flannel board on-line can cost 70 dollars, but I made mine for 4 dollars- not bad, eh? You can make flannel board stories for virtually anything, which is what is most exciting: Old Testament, New Testament, or even fairy tale stories or educational games. The opportunities are endless!
1. Is it worth buying a laminator? Right now I am using contact paper, which works great, but doesn't look as nice. How expensive are laminators with the lamination equipment? Worth the investment or not?
2. The blankets I made are 36 x 45 inches. Do you think I need to tie them at all, or are they small enough to not need it?
3. When I sewed the quilts, the top fabric would bunch slightly and cause there to be little puckers. How do you avoid that?
4. I bought like 15 yards of flannel from Jo-Anns, and then this week it is on sale for a $1.50 less a yard then last week. Will they reimburse me the difference if I bring in my receipts? I know some stores will do that and some don't- anybody have experience with Jo-Anns in that regard?
10 comments:
When I make baby blankets (you have some of them), I make like a 40"-ish square. I usually tie them 4 times with embroidery floss. I dont' think it's a necessity with flannel, though. Even if it gets out of shape in the dryer, you can fix it easy enough.
Laminator: Do you have a teacher supply store in Denver. Here we have Lakeshore Learning (in Bellevue) and they have giant professional laminator machines that you pay for by the foot. That's where I always laminate (on the two occasions I have laminated). My mom has one of those little 8.5x11 machines and the plastic it uses is super thick and hard to cut afterwards, so I wouldn't recommend that kind for what you are doing.
...and I'm wondering the same thing about JoAnn's.
Oh. And the bunching. My guess is that it has to do with flannel being just a tiny bit stretchy (all fabric is really) and you might be tugging on it a bit unknowingly while you are sewing.
Dani- thanks for the tips! I LOVE the measurements you used on your quilts for us- they are the perfect snuggle size- and I almost just copied them. I should have. I think I will next time. I also love the burp rags you made with them. I may try them next.
I'm glad you told me about the laminator. Maybe for now I will stick with the contact paper- it's not perfect, but it works.
I will let you know about JoAnns!
(The fabric I was buying was for a blanket for your newest bambina, btw, so don't go too nuts with the blanket-making...) I have another burp-cloth idea that I need to try. You take a cloth diaper and you sew a decorative strip of flannel down the center of it.
Hi Christina! First I want to say congrats on the new baby on the way. I don't comment very often, but I do love to see your updates! I just thought I would comment about the laminator. I have a scotch brand one that laminates 8.5x11 that I use for laminating piano games as well as file folder and flashcard stuff for Haddie. I really like it. I got it for around $30 and it works great for the small things that I want to do. The pouches I get to laminate with are a little bit thicker than when you get them laminated, but I don't find it hard to cut at all, and I think it makes it just a little bit sturdier too. The only downside is you can't laminate the actual file folders with it. I have those laminated at a copy store, and usually the smaller (not kinkos) ones aren't too bad a price, and I know they will last forever. I got my laminator from amazon and that is also where I get my pouches. It is way cheaper than having everything laminated and it does a nice job.
I also agree with Danielle about the bunching. Try and let your machine pull the fabric in and don't force it. Looks like you are up to lots of fun projects!!
I can't comment on any of the sewing questions but, YES, a laminator is worth the investment! They're not too expensive and so so useful. I have one that I use all the time. There's a basic one that Scotch makes that is pretty good and pretty cheap. Then, all you have to do is buy a bunch of laminator pouches. Check Amazon.
If that is the case with the fabric, then I am really worried: I was trying SUPER hard NOT to pull- and to only let the machine guide the fabric. I wonder if there is something wrong with the machine.
So I got a laminator for my birthday last year and have used it tons. I have made lots of folder games for Drew and I have already used it lots for primary too. I think the one I have was from Costco (so no telling whether it's still there or not) and I think it was around $20 and came with lots of laminating sheets. The brand is Purple Cow and it's pretty good. My only complaint is that it doesn't do things larger than 8.5 by 11.
Jo-Ann's DID credit me the difference in the sale price for the flannel! Yeah!!! However, it has to be done within 7 days.
So after I tell you to not go buy a laminator, I went and bought one. :) I just could never make it to Bellevue to laminate stuff and so I decided even if a home-one wasn't quite as good as the professional, it was a whole lot more convenient. Hello chore chart, Austin words game and FHE project, here I come. BTW: I bought a Sharp on Amazon that was marked down from like $88 to like $30 and it had a 5 star rating from close to 100 people.
Post a Comment