Duck Tape Dry Erase Drawing Mat | roll up travel play mat

This post brought to you by Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine.

Duck Tape® Dry Erase Drawing Mat | I admit this time of year I get a little excited browsing the back to school aisles. Even though the home school supplies we need are pretty well stocked I’m always looking for new creative learning items and ideas. One thing that caught my eye this year is the colorful Duck Tape® displays. This fix-all favorite is not only a creative and inexpensive way to re-vamp existing school supplies – it offers countless crafting possibilities with all of the brightly hued colors and fashionable prints.

Since we have been working on some OT drills with my little guy the new Duck Peel and Stick Dry Erase sheets caught my eye. Anything that we can use to encourage fun drawing and creative writing helps tremendously with skills as simple as holding a pen and fine motor development. I thought these would be perfect to make reusable dry erase drawing mat that could easily be rolled up and tucked in our bag for fun on the go.

We buy Duck Tape at Walmart since it’s just $3.37 a roll – and my little country boy at heart, of course, picked out the Hardwood Camo. The rest of the supplies were picked up right in store as well.

Supplies Needed: Plastic Bendable Placemat Duck Brand Dry Erase Sheets Duck Tape® Ribbon Dry Erase Markers

Tools Needed: Scissors

Step 1: Cut and place the Duck Tape® Dry Erase Sheets on the placemat. The plastic placemat was found in the kitchen section for $1. The plastic provides a nice backing for the dry erase sheets and it is flexible enough to roll. The dry erase sheets were found in the school supply section – but they are also available in the office supply aisle. They come in packs of three. Two were used for this project and trimmed slightly to fit on the placemat. The dry erase sheets have an adhesive backing so once the placement is figured out peel and stick them to the placemat.

Step 2: Place a piece of Duck Tape® down the center of the placemat, between the two dry erase sheets. Fold the ends of the Duck Tape® around to the back of the placemat – as shown above.

Step 3: Place two additional pieces of Duck Tape® on the outer edges of the placemat, securing the outer edges of the dry erase sheets. Follow the instructions below for folding the corners.

Folding Corners: With the Duck Tape® in place, carefully turn the placemat over and cut the corner as shown above.

Cut off the triangle.

Fold the side over.

Then fold the bottom up.

Once all of the corners are folded the front of the placemat should be covered as shown above.

Step 4: Fold the placemat over and begin to cover the back with Duck Tape®. Do not fold over the edges at this point – just layer the tape on. Leave a 1/2 inch allowance at the top and bottom of the placemat and about 1 inch on each of the sides – this overhang will allow you to wrap the Duck Tape® around the edges – as detailed below. As the back is being covered overlap each row of Duck Tape® about a 1/4 inch.

Optional Roll Up Mat: A piece of ribbon can be added to this step to create a travel mat. With the ribbon you will be able to roll up the mat and tie it neatly to take along in your bag.

Simply cut a long piece of ribbon and fold it in half. (I used grosgrain ribbon for the durability as it will not unravel as some others do) Place the folded ribbon half way up the placemat and continue layering the back of the placemat with Duck Tape® – as shown in Step 4.

Step 5: Flip the placemat over to the front and trim the side pieces of Duck Tape® so you have a nice straight edge. Cut the corners, as shown above, and fold over the Duck Tape® to secure.

Step 6: Trim the edges of the placemat with another layer of Duck Tape®. This layer will frame and finish off all of the edges. The trim can be done using the same Duck Tape® as the rest of the mat or a different coordinating color / pattern can be used. Black Duck Tape® was used on the mat above to coordinate with Hardwood Camouflage.

Working with one side at a time, roll out a piece of Duck Tape® the length of the side – leaving an inch overhang at each edge. (the overhang will be used to fold and secure the corners)

The placemat’s edge should be placed in the center of the Duck Tape®  – as shown above. Once folded  this will leave half of the trim showing on the front and the other half of the trim showing on the back.

Cut and fold each corner – as shown above.

For the side with the roll up ribbon, cut the Duck Tape® as shown above.

Secure the cut pieces with a small piece of Duck Tape® – as shown above – and continue.

Once finished you have a durable, reusable dry erase drawing mat.

The double, separated dry erase areas are perfect for ‘I draw – you draw’ activities.

Any dry erase markers will work with the Duck Dry Erase Sheets. I picked up the Crayola Washable Dry Erase Markers since they are colorful and easily wash clean from your hands and clothing.

The surface easily wipes clean with a piece of cotton cloth.

Once rolled, the add ribbon can be tied to secure the mat making it easy to tuck in your bag for travel.

Unroll and your ready to use. If the mat is rolled for a prolonged period of time I did notice the dry erase sheets tend to slightly crease. This can simply be fixed by rubbing them flat with the straight edge of a credit card.