Tip on making your own templates

Found this tip on Facebook....neat idea on how to make your own templates.

http://loveaffairwithmybrother.blogspot.com/2011/06/tip-do-it-yourself-cutting-templates.html

good idea... thanks for posting...

I do this various ways. For example, "dead" Xray film from my doc works fairly well. I paper punch 2 holes so I can pin it in place. For really small templates, I use those fake credit cards companies send me as a come on. sometimes, I hand the paper to my DH and have him cut a template from sheet metal for something I expect to use a lot. Of course, cereal boxes are what people used after boxed cereal first appeared. I have to use distilled water with my CPAP. Sometimes, I cut up those large jugs for templates. One of my fav circular templates is a computer CD, again, usually one sent me as an advertisement, or a program that is too old for my current computer. and yes, I have bought template plastic. I put a few flexible plastic binders too close to the parrots a while ago. They can be cut up too.

The parrots?

I like to use computer freezer paper and copy templates onto that then fuse and cut either with help of rotary cutter or scissors.

I got some light plastic veggie cutting sheets and they work really well... find them at the dollar store...

Golo, think those work much better than template plastic because they are heavier.

Anita, I use those too. I an cut 8.5x11" sheets of freezer paper and run them through my printer. they work both for cutting and for really precise free motion quilting shapes.

Redmadder, parrots will chew almost anything if they get bored. This includes door frames, laundry baskets, oak furniture, 150 year old Indian baskets and even elctrical cords. They don't eat these things, merely destroy them. somehow, the chew toys provided too them were not enough for beak exercise. (They do have to chew to keep their beaks from overgrowing.) I did not realize that my quilt book collection was within reach of my husband's parrot, with the predictable result to the bindings. I thought it was funny that my parrot liked to climb the drawer pulls of oak tool cabinet that I use for sewing supplies....until I found chew marks on the top drawer. Oh, BTW, vinyl floor tiles are a challenge.

Wow...great tips from everyone! I am currently using a large roll of heavy plastic shelf liner...I think they went with some wire shelves. But...picked up the big roll for 25 cents at the church gsale!

I'll try the freezer paper in the printer....have never done that!

I must say I was bit hesitant to open that blog with the title such as it is

I've had some luck using several layers of freezer paper ironed together, I don't bother with trying to feed the freezer paper through the printer, I just copy it on copy paper and glue it to the freezer paper layers and cut..
I have a set of metal washers for smaller circles in different sizes.

Some printers don't like freezer paper, but my HP does fine with it.