| Animal Floor Cloth |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-512 |
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Q: I would like to make something attractive to put on the floor when my son pulls out his toys. Do you have any ideas? A: (Nancy Golden, Ask DIY Decorating expert) Here's a cute idea: a wild-animal print floor cloth! The one we show here is painted to look like a zebra, but you could do a tiger, a lion -- just about any type of ferocious wild animal. Before we get started, here's a suggestion regarding the canvas fabric you'll need for this project: If you plan to make only one cloth, just buy the canvas at a fabric store. If you plan to make several, though (and they're so easy and so much fun, you may wish to), it's more economical to buy the fabric at a store that sells awnings or tents. Materials:
Canvas cloth
Scissors
Pencil
Glue gun and glue sticks
Craft or acrylic paint (we used white, burnt umber, raw sienna and black) Brushes (foam or bristle)
Polyurethane - First prime the canvas by applying a couple of coats of latex paint in the base color (we used white). The idea is to apply enough paint to the canvas that it really soaks into the fabric.
- After the primer has dried, use a pencil to sketch in the outline of the design. You can draw a border around it as we did, if you wish, but that's entirely optional (figure A). Remember: If you make a mistake, you can turn the canvas over and use the other side.
- After you have the design sketched out, draw the stripes (or spots or whatever) inside the outline (figure B).
- Cut out the "hide" shape with ordinary scissors (the canvas cuts like a dream). We marked the outer line with Xs so we wouldn't accidentally cut it out on the wrong line (figure C).
- Begin painting in the design. We could have used plain black and white for our zebra, but we decided to give it some depth by mixing colors with a wet-on-wet painting technique. First we applied burnt umber, really loading the paint on the canvas ( figure D). Then while the paint was still wet, we added shading with raw sienna (figure E). Let the paint dry.
- Use black paint and a wider brush to fill in the border (figure F). (If you use a brush that is the same width as the border, the job will be a lot easier and quicker.) Let dry.
- Now you'll need to seal the cloth with a coat or two of polyurethane. You can apply it as it comes out of the can, or you can do as we did and add a few drops of raw umber to it to create a glaze. This will add a more natural look and also age the surface (figure G).
- When the polyurethane has dried completely, it's time to finish the edge of the floor cloth. First use the scissors to make small snips along the border, just up to the inner line (figure H) -- these make it easier to fold the edge in smoothly. Then fold the edge in all around and hot-glue in place, holding it just a couple of seconds until the glue dries before you move on to the next section (figure I). That's all there is to it!
Q: Help! I want to put a border around my vaulted ceiling. Do I follow the line of the ceiling or run the border straight, all the way around the room? A: Don't follow the cathedral ceiling -- that will make too many zigzags. Instead, find the standard ceiling height and put the border in a straight line at that point. Q: I have a group of six windows that are 7' high and 10' wide. What should I do to dress them up without overpowering the room? A: Instead of installing 10' cornices or swags, group the windows in pairs for a look that won't be so overpowering. You could also consider using sunshades, wood blinds or shutters, all of which I like to use on windows. Q: I moved to a small apartment and my furniture seems too big. What should I do? A: Actually, I like using large furnishings in small spaces. You have to use fewer pieces in each room, but the large scale of the pieces can actually make the room look more important. You may want to go with lighter colors on the ceilings, floors and walls to balance out the scale.
RESOURCES :
Pattern for Fantasy Flower Floor Cloth
Painting Floorcloths: 20 Canvas Rugs to Stamp, Stencil, Sponge and Spatter in a Weekend
Model: 1579901344
Author: Kathy Cooper
(1999)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Lark Books / Altamont Press
Website: www.larkbooks.com
Floorcloth Magic: How to Paint Canvas Rugs for Decorative Home Use
Model: 1580174051
Author: Lisa Curry Mair
(Jaunuary, 2002)
To order this title from Amazon.com, click here.
Storey Books / Storey Communications Inc.
Website: www.storey.com
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