Linoleum Mat: Tutorial #1

Some talented ladies at church came up with a great idea for a "Girl's Night Out!" They called it 'DIP and DABBLE'! Dip for all the different kinds of spinach dip, cheese dip or whatever they decide to have on that particular night. Along with some delicious sweets of course. And Dabble for the creative piece of artwork we design that night and bring home.

Last month we designed and painted linoleum mats. It was our choice what we wanted to paint, but they brought a couple of mats for examples to go by. Linoleum can be bought at Home Depot, Lowe's or a local Carpet Store. For this project, only a small piece is needed. So, you may even get lucky when you head out to a store. Ask if they have any scrap pieces of linoleum and they may give it to you for free.

All you need is the piece of linoleum, craft paint, brushes, blue paint tape (if you are like me) and a small can of polyurethane to seal the mat after it is completed.

As you can see, this mat is linoleum side up. The opposite side of the linoleum will be what is painted. The blue paint tape is easy to use for straight lines or other designs. This particular mat was for my kids. It is going in their playroom! The playroom has a door to the backyard, so I thought this mat would be great for traffic going outside.

My daughter helped tape a square in the middle to paint. She picked out the color and I let her have at it! Any type of stencils can be used for this or you can freehand everything. My oldest kids made their hand prints and my baby made her footprints! After the mat is painted, let it completely dry (maybe 24 hours or less), then seal it with a coat of polyurethane!

This was my first one and I wanted the B for our last name. It sits inside my front door!

My friend Cindy made this one for her kitchen! I love it!

Another friend (Scarlett) made this one for her kitchen as well!

This is so much fun to do and so easy! I can't wait to paint some more!