DIY Cross-Stitch Dollar Store Mat

Today I discovered a contest on Dollar Store Crafts sponsored by The Dollar Tree that I just had to enter. (contest can be found here) It envolves making fun crafts with things you find in the dollar store in under 30 minutes.

I couldn't NOT make something. Sadly, the contest was going to end in a matter of hours by the time I saw it.

When I got home, I got right to work and have had nothing but problems with Photoshop while trying to format my images. Gadget's computer is dying... Bad times. But the project is done, as is the tutorial image.



I'm going to try to explain what I did here...

0 // Gather your materials. My mat, masking tape, and paint brushes are all from the dollar store. (The paint was in Walmart clearance - also a dollar and the other materials I already had.) In later photos, you'll see a plate that I use for paint - even that's from the dollar store.

1 // Make your design. First and foremost, you'll need to figure out what your design will be and what it's scale will be on the finished mat. I chose a heart because Valentine's Day is right around the corner! My mat was 14.5" by 26.5" and my "squares" ended up being 2 inches.

2 // Measure and lay down tape. With my math, there was a 6.25" border on the left & right, and a 1.25" border on the top & bottom. I used masking tape to block off the outer borders so I could make marks and find my 2 in squares. I made marks on the top piece of tape.

3 // Place all boundary tape. I did this so I knew where my 2in boxes were going to be fitting in.

4 // Make measurement marks on all pieces of tape. I made made marks on the top piece and both side pieces of tape - every 2 inches. On an additional piece of tape, I made matching marks. This piece will be moved downwards as we go forward.

5 // Start drawing. With a red paint pen, I made large Xs within each 2in 'square'.

6 // Move the tape down to continue. As I finished each row, I moved the last piece of tape downwards 2 inches and continued until I had marked out my complete design.

7 // Prepare to paint.Once the design was in place, I poured out some acrylic paint. I ended up using about 4 times what you see here.

8 // Start painting. I went over each of the sketched Xs with acrylic paint and dabbed the paint into the carpet. The carpet was higher pile than I would have liked, so it was a little difficult getting the paint in there...
Don't worry so much about the Xs not being perfect - it definitely adds character.

9 // Continue painting until all your Xs are done.

10 // Once all the Xs are painted in, remove the tape and VOILA! Acrylic dries really fast and is waterproof, but let it dry for an hour or two just to be safe.



My total time for completing this project - about 25 minutes. For about $5 - $6 if you count the plate for paint!

I hope you enjoy, and I'd love to see and pictures if you attempt one yourself.