DIY or DIE

We've had this old 5' X 8' Pier One bamboo matt for years.  The building we live in is a dust factory, and besides we've kept this rug in some pretty high-traffic areas.

So as you can kind of see from this very forgiving photo, it needed to be burned, or given some love...

... and since we hate to give up on anything, I chose the latter!

I'm very, very excited about the way it turned out, and it was a pretty easy project, just required time and patience.  I'd say total I spent 10-15 hours, start to finish, creating this piece.

SOoo...  I'm giving a little tutorial here, should you desire to create your own.

* * *

STEP ONE.
Clean Your Rug.

STEP TWO.
Make sure you have all your materials ready.  I used:

+ whatever paint we had laying around.
Check at your locally owned paint store for discounted "off" colors (the mess-ups), or peek in their dumpster for Free discarded paint.. just make sure it's not too expired or lumpy :)

+ a medium size bristle brush, a sponge brush or even a roller -- thicker weaves are better; you will use a lot of paint, as it wants to seep through the cracks.)

+ a drop cloth is key.

+ you'll need a tape measure and/or yard stick

+ i used chalk to draw the lines on the matt

+ you will need LOTS of TAPE.  I used plain masking tape, but I would recommend painter's tape, or anything super sticky that won't leave a residue (i.e. no duct tape)

+ Bonus Materials:  Fans to dry the paint as you go (but be careful of dust and bugs!)

+ Fact Check:  Do you have your pattern picked out?  Printing a paper copy for reference might help you with the layout.  This Site helped inspire my Kilim-esque design, however chevron stripes are classic and easy.

STEP THREE.
Okay!  Now you're ready to begin!  The first thing you'll want to do is find the center of your rug, which is easily found using a tape measure or yard stick.
I sketched out the main shapes in chalk and then taped them down.
BE SURE TO PRESS YOUR TAPE INTO EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY, as this will help you avoid bleeding along the edges of the tape.  Don't be afraid to spend a little extra time making sure they're down securely.

STEP FOUR.
When I felt sure I had the main body of the rug design mapped out, I chose my background color and got down to work!

Above:
I taped off the surrounding area, leaving about a 1" stripe of the natural matt, and outside of that I painted a white stripe.  As you can see, I really had to glob the paint on there, in order to fill in the slats. 

 in the end.....

... It turned out so totally sweet!
Very much worth the back breaking effort.  Not only do I have a new piece of hand made art, but I discovered a new craft I really enjoy!

the end :)