DIY Tutorials - 8/12 - The Idea Room

Paint A Rug

I recently painted our Master Bathroom a really fun Gray color {Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray} and was looking for a rug that I could put in there to add some color and match some towels I had purchased. I did a lot of shopping around online and found a lot of great rugs that I would have loved to have…but the price tags were a bit too much for me to justify. So I decided to make my own and paint a rug. I have seen several of these DIY tutorials floating around, but the very first one to inspire me was this painted rug that Jen and Shelley made. They have great step by step instructions so I won’t take the time to give you a step by step process, but will share with you a couple of things I did to make mine.

I am REALLY happy with how it turned out. I have to tell you, that I was really nervous about how well it was going to work. The rug I used was a lot more “plush” than the rug that Jen and Shelley used and I was worried that the carpet fibers would move quite a bit in the stenciling process which would then prevent me from getting really crisp and clean paint lines. But I am so happy with how it turned out. So happy in fact that I turned around and made me a second one the very next day!! I have been known to do crazy things like that once in a while!

When I first finished the rug, my bathroom cabinets were an old outdated oak color that we never loved. I loved the rug, but next to the cabinets it didn’t have the “pop” I had hoped for…so….I knew I had another project on my hands. Really…it never ends. We had been wanting to paint them forever, but they had been at the bottom of the “to do” list. Suddenly they found themselves at the top of the list. I will share more about that process in a later post. Painting them totally changed the entire look of our Master Bathroom. It is so light and fresh looking now. I feel happy spending time in there! It is amazing how your surroundings can make you feel.

The rug I used was simply a Memory Foam Runner that I found at COSTCO for $22 and some change. A huge price difference from the $400 dollar rugs I had been eyeing on line. COSTCO still has these rugs in stock people! And the rug is really soft, perfect for cold bathroom tiles on freshly showered feet.

I used the same stencil that I used for this Antique Acid Mirror that I shared with you back in the spring. The stencil is from Cutting Edge Stencils and is their Anna Damask stencil. Then I used some leftover wall paint from our Master Bathroom.

I simply placed the stencil on the rug after planning out how I wanted the pattern to be on the rug, so that it would be even, and then used a sponge paint tool to sponge the paint onto the rug. It worked really well for me and even though the carpet fibers moved a little bit in the process, I just made sure to hold the stencil firmly in place and check the alignment of it often to make sure it had not accidently slid to one side. Then I let it dry for about 20 minutes between each process so that the paint did not smudge. Be sure to check the bottom of the stencil for any leaked paint so as not to get it on your rug as you lay down the stencil each time.

What do you think?

I am loving it in the yellow color as well.

I ended up placing the yellow rug in my bathroom since it made it feel so fresh and happy! The gray rug I placed in our Master Bedroom which we also recently painted Benjamin Moore’s Rockport Gray.

And if you are wondering about how the rug feels with the paint? Truthfully, it is a little stiff…but not as much as I thought it would be. It feels just fine on your bare feet. It also softened up a bit with use and even more so when I threw it in the washer for a test. Now I am trying to think of other places to put a rug! What do you think? Do you have a spot in your home that you could use one of these?

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November 28, 2011 · Filed under: DIY Tutorials, Home Decor, Home Remodeling, Tutorials Tagged with Benjamin Moore paint, cutting edge stencil, damask stencil, designer rugs, DIY painted rugs, gray paint, gray rug, grey paint, Home Tour--Master Bedroom, stenciled rug, yellow rug

Gift Games—Tic Tac Toe

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Want a really easy gift game idea for your kids friends or for your neighbors this Holiday season? How about this simple but fun Tic Tac Toe game? This portable, magnetic game is perfect for taking on road trips, restaurants or appointments to help pass the time for your restless little ones…or let’s face it…yourself. Want to know how I made it so you can make one to? I thought so…

As part of the Martha Stewart Holiday Paint Campaign sponsored by Plaid, I was sent an amazing collection of paints, stencils and brushes from Martha’s new paint line! It was like Christmas morning! So many great products for creating so much creative goodness.

For this project, I used a couple of the paint products—Martha Stewart’s White Satin Paint and Martha Stewart’s Magnetic Paint. I used many of the various sized paint brushes they sent me and some fun Letter Stencils. You will also need some magnets, a wooden plaque and some round wooden 1 inch buttons which I was able to pick up at Lowe’s.

Take your wooden plaque and paint three coats of the magnetic paint onto the front of it. I painted just up to the edge of the plaque. I followed the directions on the back of the magnetic paint label and painted one coat at a time and let it dry for an hour before painting each additional coat. You will want to add at least two layers of the paint so that your magnets will hold well. Then I let it dry for 24 hours.

While the magnetic paint was drying, I painted the wooden buttons using Martha Stewart’s satin white paint. I loved this paint. It was so thick and smooth. It only took a two coats and the finish was so smooth and pretty. After they had dried completely, I stenciled the letters x and o with the Martha Stewart Letter Stencils onto the white buttons. I made a total of 10 buttons and made 5 o’s and 5 x’s. When they are dry glue some magnets to the bottoms using some E6000 glue.

Then I painted the edges of the plaque with a coat of black paint. This will show up under the white when I sand and rough up the edges for a nice distressed look. When the black paint is dry, use the white satin paint again to cover up the black and to give your plaque a nice finished look. I only painted around the sides and edges of the black as I added some fun patterned paper on the top.

Attach the paper with some Mod Podge with a layer underneath and a layer on the top to adhere and protect the paper. I prefer the matte finish Mod Podge.

When it has dried completely you can take a piece of sand paper and rough up the edges to give it a fun, distressed look.

Pretty simple and makes for a fun, homemade inexpensive gift idea.

And…that is not all…if you want you can change it up and turn it into a fun little photo display or recipe holder…

November 14, 2011 · Filed under: Activities, Christmas Gifts, Crafts, DIY Tutorials, Games, Gifts, Sponsors, Teacher Gifts, Tutorials Tagged with Activities, games, Gift Ideas, Home made games, Home made gifts, Martha Stewart crafts, Martha Stewart Paint, Mod Podge, Plaid Crafts

Thanksgiving Craft–Soap Bottles

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I have made a couple of other versions with the Monogrammed Hand Sanitizer and the Happy Hands version. These are so simple and inexpensive to make…who doesn’t love a that combination?

You will need the following supplies:

A Bottle of Hand Soap or Hand Sanitizer (I buy mine from the Dollar Store)

A sheet of Transparency Film

Goo Gone (to remove sticky label)

Copier or Laser Printer

Tweezers

Instructions:

1. Remove the label(s) from your bottle.

2. If there is any sticky residue left, you can easily remove it using some Goo Gone.

(I picked mine up from Home Depot)

3. If your bottle has an insert inside you can remove it with some tweezers.

4. Print out the Thanksgiving Soap Insert here.

5. Print it using a laser printer onto your transparency film.

If you do not have a laser printer you will need to print it out and then copy it onto your transparency film. If you do not do this your ink will end up running and falling off into the soap or the hand sanitizer. You can take it and have it printed at your local copy store as well.

6. Measure your bottle and cut your transparency so that it will fit into the bottle. Be sure to measure it on the top and bottom so that it sits where you would like it to…INSIDE THE BOTTLE!

7. Roll your transparency backwards and slide it into the top of the bottle. Push it into place so that it sits right against the front wall of the bottle. You can use the soap dispenser pump to push it into place.