Floor cloths make attractive accents.
Make a floor cloth as an inexpensive way to decorate your home or office. You start with a blank piece of canvas of the size desired and transform it into a personalized rug to suit your color scheme and decorating style. A floor cloth project also is a group project that both children and adults can enjoy together. Although an ideal project for your own home, you can also present a floor cloth as a gift or donate it to a silent auction or fund-raiser. Alternately, you can make and sell your floor cloths to add to your income.
Instructions
1. Lightly iron the canvas to remove any wrinkles; then lay it down flat on your clean work surface. Prepare the gesso by mixing 3 1/2-parts gesso to 1-part water in the bucket. Using the paint roller and tray, spread an even coat of the gesso mixture onto the canvas. Let dry overnight.
2. Apply your background color to the dry canvas using the exterior latex paint and roller. When completely dry, apply a second coat of background color. Let dry overnight.
3. Using the pencil and T-square, yardstick or measuring tape, mark off a 1-inch border around the canvas to glue under to create a glued hem. Re-measure the canvas to ensure your markings are even all around the canvas. Flip over the canvas and fold back the area to be glued. Heat the hot-glue gun and iron. Iron the edges down so they lie flat, then follow with a thick bead of hot glue and press down.
4. Draw your design onto the canvas using the pencil, your printed design and carbon paper. Lay down the design on the canvas with the carbon paper underneath it and carefully trace the outline onto the canvas. Continue until you have outlined the entire design. If you are using stencils, carefully stencil the design onto the canvas.
5. Carefully paint your design onto the canvas using artist's acrylic paints and small paintbrushes. Acrylics dry quickly, so if you make a mistake, simply wait for it to dry; then paint right over it. Continue until the entire design is painted and the canvas is completely covered. Let dry overnight.
6. Apply the protective sealer topcoat with a wider brush or paint roller. Let dry completely. Repeat the process three times until the canvas surface feels smooth to the touch. When the protective sealer is thoroughly dry, flip over the canvas and apply the non-skid rubber backing using a clean paint roller. Let dry completely.
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