How to Laminate Printable Deck of Playing Cards for Moms Break and related free printables sites owned by Moms Break; Inc.
The printable deck of playing cards shown here have been printed on cream-colored card stock, which is a heavier paper than regular computer paper.
The blank sides of the playing cards have been printed with a crafting paper design printable. Printing a design on the backs on the cards is an option, and isn't necessary.
Laminating does take some practice. If this is the first time that you will be laminating, you might want to practice on card-sized pieces of paper before you begin to laminate the actual playing cards.
Be sure to read the instructions that come with the laminating sheets. The instructions usually offer helpful hints for the laminating process.
A helpful illustration (picture) is shown below each instruction:
Print the playing cards. If desired, reprint the blank side of the playing cards with using a crafting paper design printable by Moms Break. Print on plain computer paper or on card stock. White or lightly tinted paper is the best. The illustration shows the back of the page of playing cards, printed with a craft design, the actual playing cards (four to a page), and four cut-out cards. These are not laminated.
Trim the playing cards. You can trim along the heavy black line as shown, to create rounded corners, or you can cut the cards in “squares” (to save time). The illustration below shows four trimmed playing cards and two sheets of laminate.
Peel back a portion of the paper backing from the sheet of laminate. Some brands of laminate come with a backing paper that can be peeled easily (the paper backing is pre-cut). If the laminate backing paper is not pre-cut, start at one corner, separate the laminate backing paper with a fingernail, and then peel back some of the paper, as shown below. As you work with the laminate, try to only touch the very edges of the sheet with just the tip of your finger or fingernail. Use your other hand to hold onto the non-sticky side (the backing paper) so that you can work with the exposed sticky side. This does take some practice, and patience.
Peel back enough laminate backing paper so that you can put two playing cards on the sticky side of the laminate. Place the cards with at least an inch between them. This will allow enough of an edge around each card so that the laminate will stick to itself nicely. When the cards are on the laminate, smooth with your fingertips, applying enough pressure onto the cards to insure than the card is completely stuck to the laminate. Do your best not to touch the sticky part of the laminate.
Peel back more of the laminate backing paper. Turn the whole sheet of laminate over. Fold the sheet about an inch above the top of the cards. That is, you are now folding the single sheet of laminate paper in half, so that both sides of the card are encased in the laminate. This step can be tricky. Take your time to insure that you begin to stick the laminate to itself evenly. As you fold, line up the edges of the laminate. When the edges are lined up, press the laminate to itself, above the tops of the playing cards. Peel the backing paper slowly. Using your fingertips, apply even pressure as the laminate sticks to itself. The key is to go slowly, do just a little at a time, keep applying even pressure to avoid air bubbles. This takes a little bit of practice, and some patience as you learn to laminate.
As you can see from the illustration below, the laminate backing paper is peeled away and the laminate sticks to itself, sealing the playing cards between the two layers. As shown here, the backs of the playing cards are face down.
This shows the same two playing cards
with the card suits face up, sealed in a single sheet of laminate.
You can use the flat edge of a ruler to smooth out any little air bubbles that might be left. If there is a large air bubble that you cannot smooth out, pierce the air bubble with a straight pin or a safety pin. This will allow the air to escape. Smooth with your fingernail or a flat-edged ruler.
Trim the playing cards. Be sure to leave at least 1/4-inch around the edges of the playing cards. This provides a nicely sealed edge, keeping the cards completely sealed. If you trim the corners with a rounded edge, the laminate will be less likely to pull apart.
This shows the same two cards front and back, one face up and the other face down.
Laminating does take some time, it can be a little tricky, and it does take some patience. You might want to practice using plain pieces of paper before beginning to laminate the printed playing cards.
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