Best Purchases EVER!

As the school year is winding down and I have 1-2 days left with each group, I'm finding a limited need for new materials, so I thought I'd share my two most important tools in their creation with you.

Of course I laminate everything so I only have to make things once, so my personal laminating machine is my number one item. 

I have found that I cannot live without my personal laminating machine.  I paid about 25 dollars for it at Walmart (and when I broke the first one due to stupid human tricks...)  I immediately went out to get it's replacement.  Amazon link to the one I have.  I got it at Walmart (but the website won't display the current price).

I find my laminating machine indispensable for many reasons.  Typically, when I'm taking the time to print and make materials, it's because I want to use them NOW (or even yesterday).  I'm not allowed to use the big laminating machine and I don't want to wait until the day they will get done for me in the copy room (if they get to me in the pile this week).  Another bonus is added durability.  I get my pouches from Lakeshore Learning (100 for 19.95).  I find that the sheets are a lot thicker than the big machine and feel more like "real" cards.

One downer about laminating things is that you have to spend the time cutting things apart twice, so enter the scrap-booking paper cutter as number two!

I can't even begin to describe how much time this baby saves me.  Often times I will use a scissors once laminated for OCD-like precision with the plastic, but it's super easy to whip through both pre and post laminiated materials on this thing.  This was somewhere around $20 at Joann or Michaels - and I probably got it on sale or used a coupon.