Flannel Boards the Frugal Way

So a few months ago Eric insisted that I make some flannel board stories of different scripture stories to help Oliver learn them better. We had been trying all sorts of ways to teach him, but he is definitely a visual learner, at least at this age. I kind of dragged my feet because it sounded like a lot of work. And when I looked up the different ways how to do it, it also seemed like a lot more money than I wanted to spend.

First I had to find already made scripture stories, because there was no way was I going to make them myself. Yikes, that sounds like a horrible idea. So I got some from this lady, but most of them from this lady who had already colored in the ones provided by The Friend Magazine by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also, I wasn't about to pay money, so I only found free pictures and clip-art. I did do some general stories as well such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Brown Bear, Brown Bear that I found on Pinterest.

On my first round of making flannel figures I followed the instructions found here. I really loved how these turned out. They are soft and seem pretty durable. But the 12-pack of transfer paper from Wal-mart that I had to buy online makes them around a dollar a page. And if you buy a 6-pack then you are more likely to pay $2-3 per page. And if your story has 6 pages, all of the sudden that is an expensive flannel board story. On top of that, you have to have an ink-jet printer. We don't have one and copy stores (at least all of the ones here) will not print onto transfer paper because transfer paper is only made for inkjet printers and laser printers will melt it or something like that. So I had to find a friend who was willing to let me print color. Then I offered her money to pay for the ink and she wouldn't take it and then it's a little awkward because I'm using all of her expensive colored ink. You also need an iron, and I don't have one, so I had to borrow that.

So then the girl who offered to print my pictures onto transfer paper suggested that I try using modge podge. Lightbulb.

Using modge podge for flannel board figures cost around $.33 per page whereas the transfer paper method costs around $1.33 per page, making this method THE CHEAPEST METHOD THERE IS!
(Costs include the price of printing pages at a copy store  of $.29 per page, the price of the felt which is $4 per yard at Wal-mart, and the price of Modge Podge using a 40% off coupon at Michael's or Hobby Lobby)

So this is what I did.

I first found all of the stories that I wanted and had them printed onto regular paper in color.

 You then have to cut out each piece.

After the pieces are cut out, you apply a generous amount of Modge Podge onto the back of the picture and stick it on the felt.

Press down the picture so that it is flat. If there is a part sticking up, add a little more glue. I then would take my sponge brush and go around the edge of the picture so that all the edges were completely stuck to the felt.

Then I would brush on a final layer of glue over the entire thing, taking off any excess glue for a smooth finish.

Then let it dry! Once dry, cut out the pieces and use them!

 

This method is a little bit more time consuming, but since I took my sweet time anyways it was worth it to have it cost less. I've found them to be quite durable and I'm not as antsy about my little boys breaking the pieces. They are a little stiffer that other versions, but they work great.