PLACEMATS  BECOME  BEAUTIFUL  FLOOR  MATS  THAT  REFLECT  YOUR  STYLE  AND  PERSONALITY

Keep your eyes on EBAY for placemats in all price ranges, and you'll have the makings of the simplest, most individual, creative floor mats YOU'VE ever seen!  Weaves, jacquards, plastics, natural elements . . . solids, patterns, prints, scenes.   With as few as two or as many as your space needs, you can make a custom floor mat to suit any room.  Once you've found the placemats that suit your fancy, scoop 'em up on EBAY and begin your masterpiece!

Just two steps will take you to a finished product!

STEP ONE:  LAY OUT YOUR DESIGN :

First, lay your placemats end-to-end and side-to-side in the 'patchwork' pattern of YOUR design.  Let your creativity and the size of your space be your guide, and let your IMAGINATION  RUN  FREE !!

For a contemporary look, lay the placemats out to create stripes, checks, or geometric patterns.  For a cottage-style look, choose prints, and designs with colors that complement one another.  A sophisticated look?  Use all one pattern or solid in the center, and surround it with a border in another pattern or solid.  Decorating Baby's room or making a shower gift?  Use pastels or delicate prints.  And for a wipe-off surface, use plastic or foam placemats in simple or whimsical combinations.  Experiment to your heart's content at this stage:  play with the arrangement!  Explore different layouts!  Experiment with odd shapes---create an oval mat, an irregular edge---even a U- or L-shaped mat to go around a corner.  Combine textures.  If you have placemats with fringe, don't hide it!  A strip or two or ten of fringe incorporated into your design can give you that popular 'shabby chic' look!   Using plastics or foams in your mat?  Try hopscotch or checkerboard arrangements for a playroom.   Try the 'checkered flag' look for a garage floor mat.   Undecided?  Leave your arrangement out for a few days, making adjustments until it's exactly what you want.

STEP TWO:  PUT THE FLOOR MAT TOGETHER---VOILA!

You can use one of four methods for connecting your placemats---depending on your preference, level of skill, or expertise:  (1) Use a hot glue gun---with plenty of glue sticks, (2) Use fabric glue---available at fabric shops or craft stores, (3) Use your sewing machine---use long stitches with strong 'thread' on plastics, and use regular or fancy stitches on fabrics, (4) Hand-tie your floor mat in the tradition of our parents and our parents' parents---give it that extra, extra quilted look.

Be sure to overlap the placemats' edges where appropriate---usually with fabrics or plastics.   With bamboo, straw, and other naturals, overlapping is probably not necessary and hand-tying or hand-stitching is recommended.   Use thread...yarn...fishing line...floss...whatever does the trick!

Now begin attaching the placemats to one another.   Gluing makes fast work of it, but there may be some separation when you launder.  If so, just glue the 'seam' shut again!   If your home is 'high risk' because of teething puppies or frequent spills, buy a few extra placemats to replace any 'patches' that become unsightly.

You simply can't go wrong, and there are SO many ways to go  RIGHT !!!   Start making floor mats to complement your rooms and to give as gifts now---search EBAY for the placemats that will become your work of art!