20140724

Foam mats create a safe spot for small children to play. They are comfortable and cushioned, but they are also very in-your-face bright. I thought I would come up with a way to make them blend in with any decor.

If you live in a smaller home, like we do, you may need to use the mats in your family room. In this case, you can disguise them to look like a rug. I stenciled this one using the Skylar's Lace stencil. from Royal Design Studios. I think they would look amazing in a chevron or wide stripe as well.

Materials:

several foam mats

primer

varathane

high-density foam rollers and paint trays

stencil

Instructions:

1. Turn the mats {which I found at Canadian Tire} upside down so the smooth side is on top. Arrange the mats to create the size and shape you want. Keep them together for the entire process.

2. Use a roller to add two coats of primer.

3. Paint the base coat using a roller. Do two coats.

4. Place stencil in the top corner and roll the paint over it. Be careful not to use too much paint. Hold or tape the stencil in place.

5. Repeat using the stencil until the entire mat is covered. Touch up any ‘mistake’ spots with a small brush.

6. Allow to dry and then add two coats of water based varathane. Make sure you use a non-toxic surface coat since it is for little people.

When you are done, you have this, which I think looks waaaay better then the bright colours they started with.

If you are using the mats in a child's room or playroom, you can make them less grown up and more interactive. To create this road map version, follow steps 1 and 2 then sketch your design on the mats in pencil. You may want to draw the design on paper first. Paint each section and then the smaller details. Use artists’ brushes for the fine work. Add two coats of varathane when done.

To see a video tutorial for both, watch this clip.

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Home - DIY

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diy painted foam mats

painted foam mats

skylar's lace stencil

Sarah Gunn

DIY Vitamin Mini Tins

Remember how excited you were to get your vitamin each day as a child, hoping for a certain shape or colour? Taking vitamins as an adult is not quite as much fun. HALLS wants to change that and bring that fun into our adult lives. They have launched a new product called HALLS Vitamin Drops and because we all need a "Daily Dose of Delicious," they made them super tasty.

HALLS asked me to recreate the old fashioned pill dispenser into something modern and stylish so you can bring your vitamins with you wherever you go. They know how I like a pretty DIY project, so I was excited for the challenge.

I found some small tins in the wedding section of a craft store and decided to wrap them in fun, colourful patterns.

This is such a simple project to do. Once you make the template for each section, each one takes just minutes to put together, but that can be our little secret.

1. Create and label templates for the different sections of the tins that you will wrap with paper. I did this by wrapping the tin in paper and cutting it to size. For the bottom, I traced the base of the tin, and cut a circle slightly smaller. Then trace the templates onto each piece of scrapbook paper and cut them out.

2. Use a paintbrush to apply mod podge to the back of one piece of paper. Wrap the tin with the paper, holding ends in place for a minute to set. Apply mod podge to the back of the remaining pieces and set in place.

3. Allow the mod podge to dry, then apply a coat of the mod podge to each area that was wrapped in paper.

Cute, simple and fun! And the perfect size to slip into your handbag to bring your vitamins with you wherever you go.

I love that HALLS is using the tagline "Daily Dose of Delicious" as a part of this campaign. Stay tuned to twitter to see what my "Daily Dose of Delicious" is, with everything from design, fashion, food, and family-inspired tweets. Follow along with the hashtag #DailyDelicious to see images that I hope will inspire you, make you smile, crave something sweet or possibly want to hop on a plane.