How to Make a Valance out of Place Mat Pictures

Laminate a child's paper craft and you have a wipe clean place mat. When teachers turn a simple craft into a useful household accessory, it isn't long before your child brings home enough place mats for a large dinner party. When you run out of table space, turn the place mats into a practical and colorful valance for your child's room. This wipe-clean valance works for a child who's allergic to dust.

Tape measure
Laminated place mat pictures
Scissors
Ribbon
Hole punch

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length of the front of the curtain rod. Laminated place mats don't bend sharply, so the valance will cover only the front of the rod.
- 2
  Line up laminated picture place mats, overlapping the side edges at least 1 inch, until the top of the line of mats is equal to the length of the rod.
- 3
  Punch a hole one-half inch below the top of the place mats in the center of the space where two place mats overlap. Punch a second hole 1 inch below this hole.
- 4
  Cut an 9-inch length of one-half-inch-wide ribbon. Cut the ends at a 45-degree angle.
- 5
  Thread the end of the ribbon through the top hole in both mats. from the back to the front. Thread the same end through the holes beneath them from the front to the back. Pull the ribbon through the holes until you have pulled through 4 inches of ribbon.
- 6
  Punch holes in the same way, through every section where the place mats overlap. Thread 9-inch lengths of ribbon through these sets of holes in the same way.
- 7
  Punch a hole one-half inch below the top edge and one-half inch from the side edge in both top corners of the valance. Punch holes 1 inch below these holes and thread them with 9-inch lengths of ribbon as you did the other sets of holes.
- 8
  Use the ribbons to tie the valance to the curtain rod.

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