DIY: Summer Placemats « Weekly Sauce

So you want to throw a garden party but you can’t find the perfect placemat? Or maybe you just can’t imagine shelling out 5 bucks a pop for one placemat. Well, move over Martha, this summer you can create modish placemats from found materials.

The DIY placemat is a simple solution and the materials pop up in the most unexpected of places. Last Mother’s Day, I took a trip with my family to The Japanese Garden at the Donald C. Tillman Plant. I didn’t know what to expect. It’s a 6 ½ acre oasis, home to native plants, white egrets, lakes, trees, a traditional Japanese tea house, all amidst the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, which processes more than 65 million gallons of sewage daily.

Sounds a bit strange, no? Well it happens to be incredibly beautiful, and if you’re in Southern California, I definitely recommend a day trip to Van Nuys.

I also didn’t expect to happen upon the perfect found object to make into an ideal outdoor placemat. It was a map in the gift shop. It was about the size of a traditional placemat, black matte, with white writing. There was a drawn map of the garden and a list detailing all the varying plants inside. It was perfect!

The next step is so simple. All you have to do is laminate. Now, some people don’t think laminating is very green, because once paper has been laminated, you can’t ever recycle it. But if you find something you really love, and make a promise to use it until you can’t fathom ever looking at it’s design again, it’s simple decision. Repurposed maps and repurposed water, how very eco-friendly!

So keep your eyes peeled. You may find your perfect placemat in the most unexpected of places.

-Arianna Schioldager

50 thoughts on “DIY: Summer Placemats”

Noor said on August 31, 2011 at 11:35 am:

Wow! That is an amazing idea. It is true that laminating a piece of paper will not able it to be recycled but if someone wants to keep a piece of their memories with them forever, it is perfect! :)
Alicia said on August 31, 2011 at 12:03 pm:

love the website.
Michael said on August 31, 2011 at 12:14 pm:

its cool
mario fagundes said on August 31, 2011 at 12:47 pm:

This is a good idea, great way to market mats, just in this economy 5.00 dollars a mat might be expensive
Christine kern said on August 31, 2011 at 12:53 pm:

Very interesting. Sometimes things that are out of the ordinary can turn into beautiful items reused.
milenee said on August 31, 2011 at 1:59 pm:

very interesting..
Teagan said on August 31, 2011 at 3:53 pm:

i think its a great idea, its cheaper to make some thing that hold’s your own memories.
Bertha Montgomery said on August 31, 2011 at 4:07 pm:

awesome
Claudia said on August 31, 2011 at 6:09 pm:

This coment give me an idea.
I have several postcards from various towns, cities and countries; not only due to those travels that i made, but also post that I receibe from my friends or family… and I think that if I make a collage with those postcards and adding the names of those who gave me the postcards; is going to be an interesting placemat and conversation topic.
Kathy Graves said on August 31, 2011 at 6:10 pm:

Very interesting and is something I believe I would enjoy.
Main said on August 31, 2011 at 7:45 pm:

it sounds like alot of work
dustin swearingen said on August 31, 2011 at 7:53 pm:

that is cool and is a smart idea
Mayeln said on August 31, 2011 at 8:36 pm:

awesome website .. :)
Bobby jean Patrick said on August 31, 2011 at 9:50 pm:

great idea gotta try this asap
Rosi Estevez said on August 31, 2011 at 10:05 pm:

nice and very interesting!
Jennifer Heidel said on September 1, 2011 at 2:02 pm:

I love love love using random pieces of fabrics like scarves or left over scraps and incorporate it into my decor. Im all about reusing and turning something with a great pattern that once was on a dress and hang it on the wall for an amazing piece of “art”. sometimes its the ruggedness and the imperfections of things that attract us even more.
Stacey Jennison said on September 1, 2011 at 6:09 pm:

I would take great pleasure in this.
Daejaneke said on September 1, 2011 at 7:27 pm:

i am looking forward to try this
sam said on September 2, 2011 at 6:38 am:

pretty good idea
Janette Andress said on September 2, 2011 at 6:52 am:

Love this idea if I decide to throw a garden party will certainly consider it.
maureen barnard said on September 2, 2011 at 9:03 pm:

i love this idea….very interesting
Brigitte Harden said on September 3, 2011 at 1:48 am:

Oh interesting. I would really like to suggest this to family members.
Phillip said on September 3, 2011 at 9:38 am:

GREAT IDEA!!
theresa said on September 3, 2011 at 3:42 pm:

nice idea i would use them.
katherine said on September 3, 2011 at 10:50 pm:

how fun!
melanie said on September 4, 2011 at 1:30 am:

that is really cool and good idea.
adrian said on September 4, 2011 at 6:35 am:

that is a good idea i want to try
Timothy said on September 4, 2011 at 7:42 am:

great idea
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Titus Mckee said on September 4, 2011 at 6:00 pm:

Good idea I could use 8 of them now.
sarena said on September 4, 2011 at 7:54 pm:

report cards for the kiddies or pictures you love! wow i love this idea. gonna start looking around more
horace said on September 5, 2011 at 1:54 am:

great idea
Mary said on September 5, 2011 at 6:47 pm:

This is a great idea. I love garden partys so I’ll have to do this!!
Amanda Galinsky said on September 5, 2011 at 7:06 pm:

awesome idea
tiffany said on September 5, 2011 at 9:48 pm:

its a great idea and a great way to reuse things just lying around. it makes it personal
Tim said on September 6, 2011 at 8:21 am:

How fun!
Melissa said on September 6, 2011 at 1:17 pm:

I love this. My daughter’s teacher did this last year for Christmas with her art work she did in class. Which is something I will save forever.
brian said on September 6, 2011 at 6:20 pm:

great site !!! good ideas
john sims said on September 6, 2011 at 8:22 pm:

great stuff
deana martinez said on September 6, 2011 at 9:18 pm:

it’s one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a while!
chris said on September 7, 2011 at 5:40 am:

i like it
William Vigus said on September 7, 2011 at 11:04 am:

Great idea!
Ria123 said on September 9, 2011 at 9:37 pm:

Cool, it Draws Me in =)
Josh said on September 10, 2011 at 6:55 am:

Awsome idea
jeanette said on September 10, 2011 at 11:21 am:

I like it!
Connie Beck said on September 10, 2011 at 12:32 pm:

Great idea with endless possibilities!
charnettra said on September 11, 2011 at 1:41 pm:

really good ideas
thu said on September 15, 2011 at 8:48 am:

Great idea, gonna to try
bryce said on October 10, 2011 at 4:37 pm:

i personaly think its a great idea :D
mark berkoski said on October 10, 2011 at 10:47 pm:

great way to save a buck while being simple….simple is better imo