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How to make a Floor Cloth

Floorcloths (aka canvas rugs) are fun and easy to make and you don't have to be an artist to create your own work of art. There's a variety of different paints and paint markers that you can use to decorate your floorcloth. All you need to add is your imagination to create a unique, one of a kind, hand painted original.

Fredrix pre-primed artist canvas is ready to be painted. Unroll it and place heavy books on the corners for a few hours to fully flatten.

Fredrix Floorcloth Canvas
Flip your floorcloth over and place it on a flat surface. Using a ruler, mark off a 2" edge on all four sides.
Make a small pencil mark 2" from each corner
Draw a diagonal line connecting the marks.
Cut along the diagonal line to remove the corner.
Put 2" carpet tape around all four sides of your floorcloth
 Press the corners together for a snug fit. Continue pressing the edges of your floorcloth.
Paint a 1" black border along all 4 sides. When dry, place your stencil along your border.
Blot off any excess paint so that your stenciling with a dry brush. Hold the stencil brush straight up and swirl the paint into the floorcloth.
You can speed up the drying time with a hand held hair dryer. After you finish one section, cover it with a towel so that it doesn't smudge.
 After the red paint is dry stencil black paint on top for a shading effect.
After the border is dry, place the jalapeno stencil in the middle of the floorcloth.
To prevent smudging the border as you paint the middle of the floorcloth, place a towel over the border.
I used a hand held hair dryer to speed up the drying time before I removed the stencil.
After the floorcloth is dry apply 3-5 thin coats of waterproof sealer.
Stencilease has the perfect stencil for your floorcloth.
Floorcloth Paint
I'm a big fan of artist acrylic paints. Artist acrylic paint is thick, easy to control and it remains flexible after it drys. It also has a high pigment content so the colors remain bright. I've had very good results with Liquitex Basics and Golden heavy body artist acrylics paints. For the jalapeno floorcloth project I used Basics paint colors Mars black, Cadmium red and Permanent green.

Basics is a thick, creamy artist paint that goes on smooth so it's less likely to run under the stencil. It also remains flexible after it drys. The colors can be easily mixed together to create your own colors. Cleans up easily with soap and water.

I've also had very good results with Golden heavy body acrylics. Golden is a thick, artist paint that goes on smooth, covers well and doesn't run. It comes in a range of various colors and cleans up with soap and water.

I like to use water based clear sealers for my floorcloths. They hold up well and clean up easily with soap and water. Sealing your floorcloth will protect it from wear and tear. And yes, you can walk on it when finished.

Fantastic Floorcloths

Fantastic Floorcloths has great tips and techniques for floorcloths that you can paint in a day. Colorful, easy to follow directions and lots of fun ideas.

More floorcloth ideas

Fredrix Floorcloth Canvas

Fredrix floorcloth canvas is perfect for making your own floor cloth. It's made from 12 oz. cotton canvas that's primed and ready to paint.

The Wildwood Cottage is a web site that provides tips and techniques, ideas and inspiration for unique art projects and crafts.

Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.

Pablo Picasso
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