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    Home » DIY Projects

    DIY Painted Rug with Craft Paints

    April 13, 2022 by Patti Estep 2 Comments

    Jump to How-to Card
    Sunflowers painted on a rug over the entire painted rug.
    Sunflower painted rug

    Learn how easy it is to paint a rug and take this inexpensive basic rug and turn it into something beautiful for less.

    Handpainted sunflowers on a rug.

    When winter is over and the weather is getting nice I often like to pick up a new rug to have as you enter the house from the porch. This year I found a great solid scatter rug at Five Below for $5 and decided to paint it with sunflowers for just this purpose.

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    Paint a Rug Tutorial

    Supplies

    • A small neutral-colored low pile or flat weave rug
    • 1 inch painter's tape
    • Craft paints
    • Fabric medium
    • Flat paint brushes
    Five pieces of painter's tape on the edge of a rug.

    First, you can give your rug a couple of stripes on the sides with this easy method to create straight lines. No need for a ruler. Just place 5 lengths of painter's tape next to each other.

    Five pieces of painter's tape on a rug with the 2nd and 4th piece pulled off.

    Then remove the two pieces of tape in the middle creating a stencil.

    Side of rug with painter's tape as a stencil and black paint spread between two pieces of tape.

    Paint the open space with black craft paint that has been mixed with fabric medium. Then remove the remaining tape.

    Small gold bowl upside down on a rug next to a pencil.

    To make the sunflowers find a small bowl. Flip it over and trace around the rim with a pencil. This will be the center of the sunflowers.

    Several small circles in pencil on a rug.

    Place a few more circles around the rug leaving room for the petals.

    Yellow paint in triangles around a circle to mimic petals.

    Mix some sunny yellow craft paint with more fabric medium to create petals by painting simple triangles around the circle. The texture of the rug may make painting opaque color difficult. So you can either leave it looking a little washed or go over the paint a few times.

    Painted sunflowers on a rug.

    Fill in the circles with more black paint.

    You can then heat press the rug with an iron to set the paint as suggested on the fabric medium bottle.

    Tips for Painting a Rug

    1. Make sure that the rug you use is a flat weave or very low pile rug in a neutral color. If the rug has any nap to it your design will move as the nap moves and it will be hard to get a good result.
    2. Using fabric medium with any craft paint is an easy and economical solution for this DIY project. You can use fabric paint or spray paint designed for fabric but they are more expensive.
    3. You can spray the rug with a fabric protector such as Scotchgard or perhaps even a polyurethane spray but heat setting the rug with an iron works well too.

    Place your new beautiful rug anywhere in your home that you'd like. I have mine in front of our patio doors. However, I also think it would be great in front of the kitchen sink too. I'll have to go back to Five Below to pick up another rug and try a new design.

    Patti signature

    More Fabric Painting Ideas

    • DIY Printed Tea Towels with Fruit
    • Leaf Printed Pillows on Drop Cloth
    • Eco Printing Tutorial
    Sunflowers painted on a rug
    Print

    How to Paint a Rug

    Learn how to take an inexpensive scatter rug and create a beautiful sunflower rug for your home in about an hour.
    Active Time1 hour hr
    Total Time1 hour hr
    Course: Home Decor Projects
    Yield: 1
    Author: Patti Estep
    Cost: $10-$15

    Equipment

    • paintbrushes
    • Small bowl
    • pencil

    Materials

    • Neutral colored small rug with a low pile or flat weave.
    • Painters tape
    • Craft Paints
    • Fabric Medium

    Instructions

    • Use strips of painter's tape side by side to create stripes.
    • Place 5 lengths of tape next to each other and then remove the second and fourth pieces creating a space to paint.
    • Mix black craft paint with paint medium and paint the open area between the painter's tape to create straight black stripes.
    • Next place a small bowl rim side down on the rug and trace around it with a pencil to create a circle.
    • Continue making a few more circles on the run making sure to leave enough room to place petals.
    • Use a large flat paintbrush to make triangles or slightly rounded triangles around the circle in a buttery yellow paint mixed with fabric medium to create petals.
    • Allow the paint to dry and place it in front of a doorway.

    Notes

    Heat set with an iron for 30 seconds if desired or spray with polyurethane.
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amanda Lake

      April 15, 2022 at 8:02 am

      Very pretty

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        April 15, 2022 at 8:28 am

        Thanks Amanda!

        Reply

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