Kitchen Mat Up-Cycled

I've had a soft squishy mat in my kitchen for as long as I can remember-probably at least 5 years.  The support it gives my feet and back while doing dishes and canning is worth having it around.

The wear and tear didn't bother me much until I saw Jen and Shelly paint chevron's on their Ikea mats.

But, the chevron pattern isn't my thing. After a google search of free patterns I found a free quatrafoil stencil made by Jen at The CSI Project.

First I painted the mat with 4-5 coats of primer.  I had it on hand and it covered the pox marks wonderfully.

I didn't realize how bad the mat was worn down.  Once the paint was dry I printed off the stencil on to cardstock.  Using an exacto knife I cut out the stencil.  I debated weather or not to use it as a stencil-and chose to outline it with pen on the mat and hand paint it in.

This was a little teadious, but worth it all.

It didn't come out perfectly, but a little paint would help.

I almost left it like this, but white in kitchens, especially mine, seems to collect footprints and dirt faster than I can keep up with it.

Using a smaller paintbrush and Calypso Blue paint I outlined each shape, this took several days of pockets of time.

Once the shapes were outlined in paint I used a bigger brush to fill in the shapes.  I added several layers of paint and a top coat of finish for more durability.

Isn't it fun?

 This took longer than I thought because I had a lot of other projects to do, races to run, and company to keep.  All in all I am so thrilled with the outcome and love the burst of color in my kitchen.

One more look of before and after...