Time again for the Pinterest Challenge! The Pinterest Challenge (for those of you that have no idea) is a link party hosted by Young House Love and Bower Power where you actually make something that you pinned. If y’all are anything like me then you’ve pinned hundreds of ideas and only made one or two of them. I am slowly working on transforming my front porch from a workshop into actual porch and am in need of a welcome mat. Now, I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but there seems to be an abundance of painted rugs floating around Pinterest. So instead of showing you one inspiration pin, I have an inspiration collage ‘o pins…
People have been painting all sorts of rugs…bamboo, sisal, jute, carpet, dropcloths, coir, those squishy puzzle piece ones that no one knows the name of…
I however wanted to paint rubber. I’ve had coir, sisal and jute outdoor mats and none of them have held up well. A rubber mat though, a rubber mat is made to go the distance.
So I went to Home Depot and headed straight to the ugly mat section and picked out the cheapest one they had. You know the section I’m talking about, the one that most women would never consider buying a rug from…
Then I got home and realized that paint may not stick to rubber very well. Or maybe it would….Google should know. Turns out that hardly anyone paints rubber things, but I did find out that acrylics would be my best because the paint remains flexible. Luckily I have a whole tub of acrylics to choose from…most of which happened to be blue.
I should tell you that I had no plans going into this, I just wanted to paint a rug. That never happens, 99% of the time I know EXACTLY what I want to do/make and then have the task of creating something that is up to par with the picture in my head. I work best that way, the things I wing I very rarely love. A little foreshadowing perhaps?
Anyway, I took out my blues and silvers, lined ’em up and thought…ombre?
So I used a foam roller and put a base coat on the whole thing.
Then I grabbed a flat ended brush for the detail work. (Yup, the one that didn’t work for stenciling.)
Then I ombred. And it looked terrible.
So I re-ombred. And it looked much better.
(My official ombre advice is to use one color mixed with various amounts of white rather than using different colors.)
Actually, it turned out to be some dang good subtle ombre-ing if you ask me.
Then I took a step back and looked at it in context and decided…I hate it. It totally doesn’t fit in on my porch.
(See all those deep scratches on my door? That’s thanks to the giant neighbor dog that’s terrified of the of the rain. Terrified of the rain but perfectly okay with crazy ladies, yelling, and brooms.)
Anyway, while collecting pinterest photos for this post I ran across the welcome at that I should have made….
I super love it…wooden slats and rope would look awesome on my front porch.
So this means the garage is acquiring a fancy new ombre mat and supplies for a wooden mat are going on my Home Depot list. Hey, decorating’s a process, right?
Update: Read about the wooden mat HERE
Love both of them, but am in love with the wooden slat one!
I love the wooden slat one, but high five for you for actually painting a mat!
Cute idea. I like the blue color.
I really like those painted rugs. I’ve been planning to paint one right on my deck (which is a solid surface, not boards), so just paint on with no actual rug there. That’s a great idea to actually MAKE something you pinned! lol. I definitely need to do that…
Wow, I am amazed. Such a great idea! Looks like good fun to.
I am so happy to “know” someone else who has made something she hates! Maybe it was the “winging” it? Now that you’ve pointed it out, I’ll have to review my “hated” results . . . thanks, Ashley!
Oh this is sooo cute!!! I just got some Rugs from the dollar store I am too cheap to pay a lot for a nice rug so I thought I would so it myself! I love this one! :) Well done!
This is a cute idea. Then I got to thinking that it would have been cute to make one in patriotic colors for the 4th and how about Christmas or spring colors….hmmmmm, a front door mat for every season.
What a makeover! It’s too bad that it didn’t end up working with your door and porch but I appreciate the tips because this is something that I’m looking into making since I have been very unsuccessful at finding an outdoor rug that I like. I hope the next rug does the trick!
Yep, decorating is a process, but a positive iterative one … hey, the garage is getting a snazzy floor mat, yes? Thanks for sharing the details of your project cause I’ll probably follow those how-to’s myself cause I realize I have a very surface worn version of the matt you purchased and this would be a great way to revive it and add color to my front door.
Robin
happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com
Oooo it’s so pretty!! Found you via The Grant Life! Thank you for sharing :)
-Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
http://www.revolutionariesblog.com
I have that same mat. I wonder if I could make mine look that great! I’m hosting a linky party “One Creative Weekend” at OneCreativeMommy.com. I’d love for you to visit and link up this idea and/or anything else you’d like to share.
I think it turned out great, but I agree it doesn’t go right where you have it. How about in a bathroom or kitchen? It does look nice!!
Beautiful! Love the ombre effect. Wherever you decide to put it, it’ll be pretty.
While I’d be scared to paint on rubber, I think using the bristle pouncer probably worked better than any other brush you could’ve used. I’d love to know how it holds up!
Have a great weekend.
You did a great job with the rug!
Wow! This turned out FABULOUS! XO, Aimee
It looks great. And is actually something I could afford to make. Good job!
Wow! really creative, ASHLEY!
This is great tips!