DIY Swiss Cross Rug

By Chelsea

I just love heading into the weekend with a little DIY fun. :) I mentioned in our Basement Therapy post that there were a couple DIYs floating around the space, but my favorite one is actually grounding the whole room altogether.

Take a good look at the rug. Can you tell that it's a DIY?

So fun, right!?! I've been smitten with the Swiss Cross for a couple years now and just couldn't get it out of my mind. I looked online for Swiss Cross rugs but couldn't find the design in the form of a rug, (lots of pillows and throw blankets). I was hoping to see one that I could use for inspiration before making my own, but alas I couldn't find a single one. Is it possible that this is the worlds first Swiss Cross rug?!?

Doubtful. But here is how I made ours in case you've been crushing on the Swiss Cross yourself. OR this technique could easily be translated to any pattern and colors you could possibly want - Multi colored hearts for a girls room, gold stars, triangles - think about it, you guys; the sky is the limit with this one!!!

Supply list:

Plain, solid rug

Can of spray paint or water diluted paint

Cardboard

First, you need a plain, solid color rug. I found our oatmeal-y grey one at Home Depot for $20 during a brief sale - the original price was $30, and it is oh so soft. Then you need a can of flat black spray paint, (or whatever color you want). Spray paint is wonderful for this project because it's already diluted a bit, so it won't dry stiff. If you decide on a using a brush and can of paint, just be sure to mix the paint with a bit of water to thin it out.

Then take a large piece of cardboard, (mine was about 18-20 square inches), and use a box cutter to carve a Swiss cross in the middle, (or whatever shape you'd like). How large you want it is up to you. The most important thing is that it is exactly centered in your piece of cardboard so it's easier to equally space the pattern.

Yup.

Bring the rug outside and lay on a smooth, flat surface. Lay the cardboard flat on the rug and spray from about 5-6"" away, being careful not to get over-spray onto the rug. The way I got my crosses all equal distance apart was by lining the cardboard up on the crosses I'd already done. I'd line the top of the cardboard up with the bottom of the crosses on the row above, (see below), and one side up against the tip of the previous cross sprayed right next door. Spacing and arrangement is all up to you!

All finished!

Now we are off to do some Friday thrifting! If you're on Instagram you can follow all our freshest finds, ideas, and projects at @chelseasgarage. I really think our relationship is ready for this next step!

I so appreciate you stopping by and have a splendid weekend!

~Chelsea

DIY painted rug tutorial #2

By Chelsea




Hi guys! Stopping by today to share another painted rug tutorial that I tried recently, (see the first here). To be honest, I wasn't sure how in the world this would turn out, but I'm crazy about the final product!

What you need:

--A natural rug, (braided, jute)

-Scotch Blue Edge Lock 3M tape, (#2093EL)

--Box cutter

--1 can of spray paint, flat finish

1. Lay your rug on a flat surface

2. Use your box cutter to carve deep cuts into your tape. 

These are the pieces you'll peel off and stick on your rug.

3. Peel your carved tape pieces off the roll and stick them randomly on rug.

4. Stop to receive the most beautiful weeds in the world picked just for you by a sweet little boy 

(optional)

5. Shake can of spray paint for about 20 seconds and spray entire rug, holding can ~12" away

Let dry and bring inside!

You don't HAVE to use spray paint for this project, but what I love about spray paint for stuff like this is that it's already watered down for you, and already in spray form. The reason this rug works, aside from the fact that I love the print, is that it's not sticky or stiff in the least. Since the black spray paint is already diluted in the can it sort of seeps into the fibers of the rug rather than settling on top, as straight up paint would. SO, if you prefer to use regular, undiluted paint from a can, you'll need to transfer a portion of it to another sealed container where you can dilute it with water. Then just brush it on a few times over. If you happen to try this out please send a pic of your masterpiece! I always love seeing your own twists on ideas and how you incorporate them in your home.

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Plank a wall with a Sharpie! {plus two more original ideas in our guest nook}

By Chelsea



Hi guys! Okay, bear with me. I have been told by my sweet, funny, awesome, HONEST husband that I am an extremist. I call things the best or the worst. Favorite or least favorite. Scalding hot or ice cold. Perfect or horrible. You catch my drift. He's even challenged me to try using words like "good", "fine", "bad", "nice". I love him so very much. But, today I cannot accept his challenge. Why? Because this IS my favorite post yet. For real.

With summer rolling up fast and a handful of overnight guests on our calendar, I wanted to do something in our guest room. Anything. Anything at all to perk it up.

First off, here is our basement:

But I haven't showed you what's around the corner because, well, there hasn't been much to show. This is what we've had going on around the corner: our honorary guest nook:

There's a full bath down here and zero kids waking up at 5:30am, so it makes sense to use this space for guests. But it's always been blahze, (made up french word, pronounced blaa-zay: means boring in french). I think guest rooms should be fun and different! This is the room where you can really stretch your creativity and try things you might not necessarily try elsewhere in your home! If things go horribly wrong it's not like YOU have to sleep in it after-all. ;)

It took me exactly 90 total minutes split up by three separate projects to fix up our guest room from what you see above, to this:

Project #1:

Sharpie plank wall

Supplies:

-piece of cardboard cut to your preferred size, (I tried to make mine about 4" to emulate actual planks)

-Sharpie

How-to:

Start at a top corner. Hold your cardboard strip onto the wall with one hand, and with the other trace your cardboard with the Sharpie. When you've traced the whole cardboard strip, remove it and add two little dots at either end of your 'plank' to look like nails.

If you're thinking to yourself that this looks so fake, you would be correct. I was definitely not going for realistic when I decided to draw planks on this accent wall with a Sharpie. It's just fun, whimsical and gives this space a real focal point! If you like the idea but not the faky-ness, you could always purchase plank wallpaper and do up an accent wall that way! Or, install actual planks.

Project #2

Turn bookcase into sideboard

Supplies:

-brute strength

How to:

First, be sure you have cleared some room - enough for the height, (which will become the length), of your bookcase. Then, very carefully, turn your bookcase over on it's side. Use those metal shelf bracket holders to secure your shelves on each side so they don't flop over. We have ugly office supplies and storage in our bookcase, (now sideboard), so I used a tension rod fixed between two shelves and hung a curtain, (which, is actually a pillowcase from Target cut right down the seam!)

Project #3

Paint splattered rug

Supplies:

-watered down paint

-brush, (I used a 3")

How-to:

Spread your rug out over a protected surface outside. Pour your paint into a plastic cup and add a dallop of water, enough to make your paint moderately thin. Dip your brush about an inch into the thin paint, then hold it over your rug and shake the paint all over. I used yellow, red, aqua, and green.

There you have it! Three easy projects that make this room a truly special space now. Here are some more photos of the nook:

I made another 'macrame' planter from our hammock to hang over the bed. (see how-to here) With an elaborate wall behind the bed, I didn't want to make it too busy with a large headboard. Bringing in a bit of natural greenery is just the touch to liven up the space and keep it fresh. And since this space gets very little natural light, I used a faux fern. No need to water or move the plant around to follow the light. No worrying about dirt spilling on guests heads in their slumber. Easy peasy.

It always amazes me how even the simplest of ideas and projects can have such an impact on a room. I love this space now; it fits in with the rest of our home. Our guest room is officially open for business and we can't wait to show our visitors to their room while they stay! 

If you happen to try any of these ideas, or have already, please link in a comment below or email me your photos!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

~Chelsea

P.S. Don't forget!

Chelsea's Garage sale #5!

Saturday, June 7

9am-3pm

Email me for the address if you're interested!

(located in Herndon, VA)

Want a daring DIY? Paint a rug!

By Chelsea



Hi all! So, here's a fun fact; boys are weird! If you married one, grew up with one, and/or are raising one of your own, this is no shock. If you are a man, this should also be no shock. Your kind is downright crazy.

Ridiculous.

We've bunked our boys, (ages 4 and almost 3), in one room together for the past year and a half, (not literally; they're in my husband's old bunk beds but for now they're not stacked). For the most part I've kept their room pretty simple for the obvious reason that putting two boys of this age together in one space is like cornering wild animals. Their sudden, desperate impulses to start wrestling are baffling. We'll say good night to them and they'll seem really tired, snuggling into their pillows, and then 5 minutes later it literally sounds like a zoo. I'll see one on top of the other rolling around, fighting for position and laughing. See? So weird!

But I digress. The point is, for their own protection I haven't decorated the room much. I made some paper airplanes to hang from the ceiling, painted stripes on the curtains, hung a couple pieces of art and called it a day. I love their room; I love seeing them play in and enjoy it, but sometimes it felt a bit sterile. Because I didn't want to put more up on the walls I figured an area rug would be a great way to add a bit of warmth. But let's be honest. They're little boys and I didn't want to invest in a nice rug for their room just to worry about it getting ruined. So, I found a simple navy rug on sale at Home Depot, (brand is Heavy Traffic, so perfect), and painted my own design on it!

For a 6' x 8' rug that cost $19.40 I felt pretty comfortable slapping on some paint. I started by taping off three stripes on the ends.

I used watered down white latex paint and a regular bristle brush, (2"), to paint the rug. After I painted between my blue taped stripes, I started free-handing the diamonds. I really didn't want it looking too perfect, so I let the paint go on unevenly and didn't worry about making exactly straight lines. I did, however, measure off where I wanted the points of the diamonds to be, (every 12"), and marked those off with a piece of blue tape to use as a reference.

Here is the whole rug before, (before I vacuumed, too)

And after!

Another little look around their room 

I painted the stripes on their white curtains using Country Grey by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, (I used the same color for the stripes on their lampshade).

I used a black paint marker to write this verse on canvas. Don't use a black paint marker on canvas. Use a thick Sharpie. It won't smudge every time sweaty little fingers touch it and will save $!

The propped up xylophone has been in my husbands family for at least 50 years!

Paper flag garland was a gift found at Paper Source and my Dad put together the red model plane hanging in front of the closet.

Final note: The bedding. Their coordinating gray sheets are from Target's Threshold collection, as well as the matching dark red knit blankets.

So there you have it! A painted rug. Could you, would you paint a rug? (Reading lots of Green Eggs and Ham lately).

Thank you so much for stopping by!

~Chelsea