• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

sparkle living blog

sparkle*

  • Home
  • Ideas
  • Printables Library
  • Etsy Shop
  • Say Hello
  • Policies
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
You are here: Home / DIY / make a better mousepad

make a better mousepad

June 17, 2011 by jessa 12 Comments

0 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

I’ve been playing around with painting on fabric..trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Today I decided to use my new found painting-on-fabric skills to update our old mousepad.

Supplies: fabric, stencil of your choice, acrylic paint, foam mousepad, adhesive spray, scissors or X-acto knife.

I found an image that I used my Silhouette machine to cut out on vinyl. A bike! Perfect for Father’s Day! After weeding out the inside of the cutting, I’m left with a stencil of a bike. Of course you can use any stencil or make your own!

Using transfer paper, I put this on a piece of fabric. This is the fabric I bought to make curtains for that room with, so everything will match. Once the vinyl is stuck on, carefully dab on the acrylic paint with a foam brush. The vinyl doesn’t stick very well to the fabric, so you have to be careful when painting. Additionally, the paint will bleed through the fabric, so put newspaper underneath your project. You want the surface of the mousepad to be smooth, so go easy on the paint.

Once the paint dries, iron the other side to get out any wrinkles.

It’s hard to see in the above photo, but determine where you want the fabric to be on the mousepad, then trace around the mousepad on the wrong side of the fabric to make an outline. Then take both the pad and fabric outside and use your adhesive spray on the wrong side of the fabric. I used a lot just to help prevent any fraying from the edge of the fabric. Stick on your mousepad using your outline as a guide. Smooth over with your hands to make sure there are no wrinkles and the fabric is where you want it to be.

Once firmly in place, use an X-acto knife or scissors to cut off the excess fabric.

That’s all there is to it!

Linked to: Designer Garden, Tatertots and Jello, Somewhat Simple-Father’s Day Ideas, Iย โ™ฅ Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, Under the Table and Dreaming, Between Naps On the Porch, Skip to My Lou, At Home With K, Blue Cricket Design, Lil’ Luna, House of Hepworths

Filed Under: DIY, Primary Menu Tagged With: craft, decor, DIY, Primary Menu, vinyl

Previous Post: « things that make me happy
Next Post: friday favorites 6.17.11 »

Reader Interactions

Categories

Archives

Search

Comments

  1. Tricia @ SweeterThanSweets

    June 17, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    That is such a great idea! I wouldn’t have ever thought of recovering a mousepad but it looks amazing! So fun. Thanks for sharing!

    (visiting from Tatertots and Jello)

    Reply
    • Tricia @ SweeterThanSweets

      June 17, 2011 at 5:22 pm

      Just had to write again to tell you I just Pinned this! =)

      Reply
  2. Jengerbread

    June 17, 2011 at 7:47 pm

    Recovering a mousepad–what a great idea! Now I can make cute mousepads out of all our ugly free ones we have lying around the house! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
  3. SouthernScraps

    June 18, 2011 at 6:49 am

    Love this idea!

    Reply
  4. Megan

    June 20, 2011 at 9:31 am

    Such a quick and easy project. Love it!

    Reply
  5. Michella Marie

    June 23, 2011 at 12:28 am

    What a great idea!! I have a million scraps of fabric I could use for this!!!!
    Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment!! Come and visit anytime!!
    LOVE FROM TEXAS!!!
    Michella
    http://www.michellamarie.com

    Reply
  6. Amanda

    June 25, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    What a great idea! ๐Ÿ™‚ I’ve featured this post on Craft Gossip here:
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/customize-your-mousepad/

    If you would like a “featured by” button, you can grab one here:
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

    Reply
  7. Vanessa

    June 25, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    This is such a great idea! I love it and will share this at tomorrow’s linky party!! ๐Ÿ™‚
    Thank you so much for linking to {nifty thrifty things} last week!
    I hope to see you again tomorrow!
    xoxo,
    Vanessa

    PS: Pick up a feature button, if you’d like! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  8. Carolyn

    July 3, 2011 at 2:11 am

    Mousepad looks adorable.

    Reply
  9. Nicole

    September 12, 2011 at 9:59 am

    i love this and am about to do it. hahaha but i was just wondering, did the fabric end up fraying, or should i use fray check just in case?

    Reply
    • jessa

      September 12, 2011 at 10:04 am

      It did fray a little around the edges. If I did it over I would use fray check and a higher quality fabric.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Jessa and welcome to Sparkle. Look around and I hope you find ways to inspire your creativity. You will find gorgeous crafts and DIY, delicious recipes, printables to help get organized and ideas to live your best life! Take a look around.

Categories

Chocolate Sour Cream Quick Bread

Need a quick chocolate fix? How about this chocolate sour cream quick bread! Moist and gooey in the middle and full of chocolate flavor.

Footer

Find Your Influence

Connect

Read Moreโ€ฆ

Sparkle Living Blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework

0 shares