Arts And Entertainment

Make Your Home Dreamland (Part X)

By : Sumona Das	Previous \| Next
Posted on : 22 Feb, 2006	Total Views : 465

10. Fast Floor cloths - A classic floor cloth will give any room in your home a touch of class. Here you'll learn the basics of making your own floor cloth, accompanied by projects with downloadable plans. It's fast, it's fun, it's affordable, and it's you!

For creating floor cloths patters you need:

Plastic-core, no-fray floor cloth canvas

Copy machine that makes oversize images (available at most copy centers)

Crafts knife

Long metal ruler

Large metal square rule

Small metal square rule

Colored pencil

Scissors

Paint roller or paintbrush

1 1/2-inch tapered paintbrush

Small artist's brush

Stencil brush

Interior latex paints, crafts paints, or stencil paints

Clear water-base polyurethane

Black marking pen

White paint pen

Poster board

Paper plates

Instructions for Checkerboard:

1. Measure and mark floor cloth canvas in a 58-inch square; cut out using a crafts knife and straightedge.

2. Working on a protected surface, use roller to apply base coat of paint to floor cloth material; let dry. Repeat.

3. Measure 8 inches in from each side and mark with a colored pencil. Connect these marks to create a 42-inch square centered on the floor cloth.

4. Measure and mark 2 inches inside the first square, creating a narrow border. Within the narrow border, use a small square rule to mark 2-inch squares. You may need to fudge spacing a bit to avoid having extra space or the same color in adjacent squares at the end.

5. Create a checkerboard pattern inside the border by dividing each side by four, marking points, then drawing corresponding lines using the large square rule.

6. Using the tapered paintbrush, paint in squares, randomly applying each desired color to three or four squares. Let paint dry between colors.

7. Within the narrow border, use the artist's paintbrush to paint alternate squares; let dry. Paint remaining squares; let dry.

8. Draw a zigzag border around the floor cloth perimeter, and then cut with scissors. Paint an accent color along edge.

Instructions for Spots:

1. Measure and mark a 58 x 82 1/2-inch rectangle on the canvas; cut out using a crafts knife and metal straightedge.

2. Working on a protected surface, roll light peach paint on canvas; let dry; repeat.

3. To make a circle stencil, trace a paper plate onto center of a poster-board square; cut out circle.

4. Position stencil in upper left-hand corner of floor cloth. Use stencil brush to paint a white spot inside the circle, using a dabbing motion. (Dab excess paint onto a paper towel before stenciling).

5. Using a white pencil, lightly mark top right edge of stencil. Lift stencil and position it to the right of the mark; paint. Repeat over entire cloth, adding one blue accent-color circle. To make circles opaque, add a second coat of paint by stenciling again or filling in with more paint by hand.

For making octopus, tulip, and watering can designs for floor cloths:

OCTOPUS

1. Download the free pattern for this project from the internet.

2. On a copy machine, enlarge pattern 600 percent. To make it even bigger, enlarge sections of pattern; tape sections together. Cut out the pattern. Trace onto canvas; cut out with scissors, taking care to make smooth cuts.

3. Working on a protected surface, paint shape bright blue; let dry. Repeat.

4. With a pencil, draw in tentacles, eyes, and mouth on pattern. Cut images from pattern; trace onto floor cloth. Using small artist's brush, paint octopus shape green; outline with a black marking pen.

5. Using white paint pen or small artist's brush and acrylic crafts paint, paint eyes white; let dry. Add black pupils and spots with marking pen.

TULIP

1. Download the free pattern for this project from the
internet.
On a copy machine, enlarge pattern by 600 percent. To make it even bigger, enlarge sections of pattern; tape sections together. Cut out the pattern. Trace onto floor cloth canvas; cut out with scissors, taking care to make smooth cuts.

2. Working on a protected surface, brush medium pink paint on tulip shape; let dry. Repeat.

3. With a colored pencil, draw in petals. You can draw freehand or cut petals from pattern and trace.

4. Using an artist's brush and working with one petal at a time, paint back petals and outline front petals in dark pink. While paint is still wet, "blend" it out: Dip brush in dark pink then medium pink, and go over the area again for a brushy effect.

5. Add light pink highlights in middle of petals; blend with light pink then medium pink paint.

WATERING CAN

1. Measure and mark canvas in a 24 x 36-inch rectangle; cut out using a crafts knife and straightedge.

2. Working on a protected surface, use paintbrush to apply aqua-color base coat to canvas; let dry.

3. Draw or trace a watering-can shape onto canvas. Using an artist's brush, paint the watering can light sage green. When dry, add detail with crafts paints using a "blend" technique: Dip brush in green then cream, then outline watering can for a brushy effect. Add a flower in the middle.

4. On one side at a time, tape off a 2-inch border along the floor cloth perimeter. Fill in with brushstrokes in sage green; let dry. Repeat for other sides.

Lastly six quick tips for floor cloth:

1. There are two ways to cut out floor cloth canvas. If your design is curvy, use scissors, taking care to cut smooth edges. If your design has straight edges, use a crafts knife pressed against a long metal ruler or metal square rule. If making many cuts, use a self-healing cutting mat.

2. When applying a base coat to a large surface, it's easiest to use a paint roller and pan. Wrap the roller and pan in a plastic bag while waiting for the first coat to dry.

3. You can use a regular pencil to make marks and trace patterns, but the marks may smudge. A colored pencil won't. Use a color similar to your project color, but one dark enough to see.

4. If you prefer images with a painterly effect, add your designs freehand. A high-quality 1 1/2-inch tapered paintbrush or artist's brush gives you good control.

5. If you want your designs to have a crisp look,
carefully trace and fill in patterns, and tape off straight edges. After taping, keep paint from bleeding by coating the area with clear glaze. Let dry, then paint.

6. To prevent your floor cloth from slipping after you've finished painting, brush the back of the floor cloth with rubber cement, and let dry.

Written By : Sumona Das

Visit personal website of Sumona Das

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