THE EASY WAY — FOR “LIGHT USE” CARDS
Simply buy trading card protectors (also known as “baseball card sleeves”). I found packs of 100 at my local dollar store.
Print and cut out what you want on your cards, and slip that into the protectors/sleeves.
Not only are these inexpensive and easy peasy to make, the sleeves can be re-used with new contents. Because what is in the sleeves can be switched out, this approach is great for cards that will be changed from time to time—for example, vocabulary cards. You don’t need new sleeves each time you move on to a new set of vocabulary items.
THE HARDER WAY (LAMINATION) — FOR “HEAVY USE” CARDS
Laminated cards shuffle nicely, are impervious to spills (and children’s sneezes), and will last for many years. If you find the laminated surface gets a bit grungy after a lot of use, you can wash the cards quickly and easily by hand with simple hand soap or dish detergent.
Here is a video showing how I make mine.