DIY Drop Cloth Rug

So I had a dilemma.

I wanted a rug or mat or something for my living room floor. I really love rugs and the color and character they give to a room. The right rug really pulls everything you have together and makes it cohesive. 

However (here comes the dilemma part), there was virtually no money to put toward this. Have you seen how expensive rugs are?! You are talking big, big bucks. I had been searching all over Pinterest and DIY blogs trying to find a way to make a rug or hack something to get what I wanted. A lot of bloggers were buying rugs from Walmart or IKEA (which I don't have) and then painting them. Even still, the rugs they were buying to even start the project were $50+ and I didn't even have that much. Plus, if my project were a complete bust (which has been known to happen with some Pinterest projects I've done) it would have been a big money suck... and I would have cried and hated myself for days.

Via Pottery Barn Kids

I pretty much wanted the impossible... something to look like the above $500 PB rug without the price tag and more for like.... $20. Impossible, right?

Then I found this tutorial and inspiration struck. Ten dollar drop cloth canvas plus some paint, fabric medium and tape. Could I really, possibly, maybe replicate my PB rug? Yes! I can and I did. And so can you! Here's the lowdown:

You will need:

1 6' x 9' drop cloth canvas from Lowe's or Home Depot
3 sample bottles (or <1 quart) of your choice of paint color
painters tape (I used Scotch blue painters tape)
fabric medium

1. I washed and dried my canvas (this was hard because I wanted to start immediately, but I knew it would shrink a little and I didn't want to paint it and then have it shrink).

2. I measured my canvas (which had shrunk quite a bit... 7 inches!) and found that it was about 101" in length. I figured that I wanted my stripes to be 5" wide, and left 1" for error :-) I measured every 5" and left a little tick mark with a pencil so I would know where to tape.

3. So I taped my stripes (which probably took about 100x longer with two little girls running around...) and then waited until nap time to paint :-)

4. PAINT! I used more paint that I though I would and actually had to go back to Lowe's to pick up another sample bottle. The canvas soaks it up! I mixed the paint with fabric medium just because I thought it would be better knowing I would definitely be washing it from time to time. The ratios for paint:medium are on the bottle, but I didn't use more than half a bottle. I pushed down on my painters tape before I painted each row just to make sure that it stuck really good and I didn't have any paint going underneath. Overall, the tape did really great and I had very few problems with any paint going underneath it.

5. I waited overnight and it was totally dry by morning. The fabric medium says to heat set it (which I will probably do at some point) and to wait 7 days before washing.

6. ENJOY YOUR CUSTOM RUG! :-)



Here's the budget breakdown:

drop cloth - $10
3 sample bottles of paint - $2.69 x 3 = $8.07
tape (already had)
fabric medium (already had)

Total = Less than $20!

Overall, its perfect for me. I didn't need a rug (or at least a plushy one), it was more for looks. It's grounded by my furniture so it doesn't move around much at all. If you had hardwood floors, you would probably want a rug pad.

Best part? Less than $20. Best part? It's WASHABLE. Best part? LOVE IT. Basically its just the best.

Are you ready to try it? Would you do stripes or some other design?

Ten extra pounds & singing off tune.

I am thankful that no matter what I look like, my kids love me. I'm their momma. I can shower or not, do my hair or not. I'm still their momma. And they love me.

I can sing off tune, but they love my singing anyway.

I can mess up, and they are quick to forgive.

I can have 10 extra pounds in my thighs and giant love handles around my waist and they don't care one bit. I'm their momma and they love me.

Even with all my flaws, they still love me. I find that profound. In a culture in which love and affection is seemingly acquired by having the right body, talents or fame, this is an anomaly. My children love me because I am their momma. Nothing more is needed.

I hope and pray they know they are loved unconditionally, not because of anything they have done or will do, but because they are mine.

My children truly do help grow me in my relationship with Jesus. They open my eyes to see how God loves me. Even with all my flaws, He still loves me. I pray that through His grace that I lead my children to know and love this amazing God who came, died, and lived to make me whole.

Cookie Cutter Kids.

I didn't realize how much of a difference there would be in raising two kids. They are so different, yet similar. They are their own person, yet sisters. I thought using the same techniques in learning, discipline, etc would be the same... maybe with a few tweaks here and there. But oh my... It's like a 180 degree difference.

I don't want to raise cookie cutter kids. They are both so different. They respond well to certain things and terrible to others.

One loves cuddling, playing on the floor, sitting in your lap with a book. One loves playing dolls, coloring and being told, "Great job!".

I love them both. I want to love them the way they need to be loved. But it's a daily study, remembering what they respond to and trying really hard to love them the way they want to be loved, even if its different than mine.