My Inspiration: With a kitchen remodel nearly done, I’ve been looking for an accent rug for in front of the kitchen sink and stove area. I haven’t been able to find something I like but one I did spy several painted foam mats on Pinterest
and knew it was a project I wanted to try. I considered a chevron pattern and even a floral one, but since the kitchen is Mr. DIY’s domain, I finally decided on a design that he would enjoy. I also wanted to incorporate red and turquoise and stumbled across this poster from Zazzle…
My Painted Foam Playmat Tutorial
Materials I used:
2 sets of Edushape playmat tiles (with border)
Gorilla Tape (or duct tape)
Primer
Base paint color (I used leftover interior latex in eggshell finish)
Sharpie
Pencil
Glaze (dark gray/brown watered down paint)
Rockler TransTint dye (as another dark glaze)
Craft paints watered down to create glaze (Deco Art): dark and light turquoise, red and white
Minwax Polycrilic
1. I started by putting together the puzzle pieces and used the dining room table as a work space (use a drop cloth to protect furniture).
2. Next, I taped over the puzzle joints using Gorilla tape. This is the back side.
3. Flip and apply two coats of primer using a foam roller and allow to dry.
4. Roll on two coats of base color (I used gray), drying between coats.
5. Using a yardstick and Sharpie, I created even “planks” (approximately 5 1/2 inches apart). If looking at the mat in a “landscape” view, planks are vertical. I randomly spaced lines for ‘cuts’. I also scribbled in the ‘craters’ in the foam to mimic knots.
6. With a pencil and looking at the image I wanted to use, I drew a large lobster (correction: crawfish). No need to erase pencil marks where mistakes were made (this will be covered with ‘aging technique’). This was the hardest/scariest part – I’m not an artist!
7. With my acrylic craft paint, I traced my pencil marks, outlined then filled in my crawfish with red craft paint. and let it dry.
8. Next I used my dark glaze (watered down brown/gray paint) and working in “planked” sections, applied with a dry brush (dipping in glaze, then dabbing on paper towel/cardboard) and brushing long vertical strokes. In some places, I wiped or dabbed the glaze with a paper towel.
9. Using my Silhouette, I created vinyl stencils for the words “Try Our”, “Gumbo” and “New Orleans Style”. I applied the vinyl and rubbed down for a good seal. (If you don’t have a vinyl cutter, use letter stencils, freehand or shop Etsy for custom vinyl.)
10. Using turquoise, white and red craft paints, I painted in my stenciled words, let dry then removed vinyl.
Aging technique:
11. Next I used my TransTint dye and working in “planked” sections, applied with a dry brush (dipping in glaze, then dabbing on paper towel/cardboard) and brushing long vertical strokes. In some places, I wiped or dabbed the glaze with a paper towel.
12. Next I brushed on red, light and dark turquoise and repeated step 11.
13. Once that was dry, I went over a few spots with a white glaze (white craft paint + water) to create lighter and darker distressing, following with a paper towel to ‘pat’ or wipe. Let dry.
14. Last step was brushing on at least two coats of Polycrilic to protect it. The first coat went on vertical and the second horizontal. Allow to dry.
*All paints/glazes and Polycrilic dried super fast.
All done! Isn’t this super cute? We love it. It looks almost as good as the poster inspiration – like an aged, vintage restaurant sign. Fun!
Nice and cushy for the cook’s feet, easy to clean!
Don’t have a floor to paint? This is a great option! Looking for an affordable HUGE canvas for some DIY art? This works! In fact, this is too cute for a kitchen floor mat, so you’ll be seeing it moved somewhere else by summer!
Check out the whole article with images from the source link below.
Source: http://diyshowoff.com/2012/03/08/painted-play-mat-and-the-pinterest-challenge/
Image: Same