Floral Block DIY Outdoor Rug and How to Make a Stencil with Cricut

How to make a stencil with Cricut machines + a plain outdoor rug gets a floral block designer look for less.

This post is sponsored by Cricut Official.

It seemed like a good day to bust out the Cricut machine to make a DIY stencil. It’s not my first rodeo stenciling (remember last summer’s stenciled front porch floor)? Now that I’ve made my own this way, I don’t think I’m ever going back to store-bought stencils again.

A few months ago, when I spotted a floral block rug in Pottery Barn and floral block textiles from Studio McGee, I knew I wanted to attempt to make my own version as a DIY outdoor rug. They’re the perfect blend of masculine geometric with feminine frill; I can’t help but love the Scandinavian vibe.

So to scratch my “outdoor project itch”, since it won’t stop raining long enough to stain the pergola, I decided I wasn’t going to let rainy day blues get the better of me and would make our plain outdoor rug I bought last summer for our back porch into a DIY floral block style instead.

I am very much a newb to the world of Cricut (it’s been on my wish list for years), but after this project, I’m seriously hooked on this thing! If you’re a crafter and have felt intimidated to attempt using a die-cutting machine, this is the perfect beginner project.

How to Make a Stencil with Cricut

Supplies Used for DIY Reusable Stencil:

• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Light Grip Machine Mat
• Deep Point Blade & Housing
• Starter Tool Set
• 12″x12″ acetate sheet (you can use regular vinyl if you want to make a stencil for one-time use)

The Steps to Make a Reusable Stencil:

1. Start by designing your stencil in Cricut Design Space. I searched “flower” on the images tab and scrolled until I found one that I thought would work well as a simple cut-out stencil.

2. Select the flower image of your choice and click the “Insert Images” on the bottom right of the screen so it appears on your blank canvas.

3. On the right hand side of the screen, click the “eyes” next to any colors you don’t want showing so only the silhouette of the image is left.

4. Next, click the “shapes” tab on the left side of the screen and select “square”. A square box will appear on top of the flower image on the canvas.

5. Click and drag the corners of the square to cover the flower image. Click “arrange” at the top of the screen and select “move forward” so that the flower image appears in front of the square.

6. Click “slice” at the bottom right side of the screen and delete the flower image. The outline will be left in its place in the square.

7. To begin printing your stencil, click “Make It” in the top right corner of the screen. Select custom material set to “transparency” and set pressure to “more”.

8. At this point, remove your regular Cricut blade and replace it with the deep point blade.

9. Place an acetate sheet onto the light grip machine mat and load the mat into the Cricut machine. Press the Load/Unload button on the machine.

10. Take one last look at your stencil to make everything looks correct, and press the flashing Go button to start cutting.

 

11. Once the Cricut machine is finished cutting, you can use your Starter Tool Set to help carefully peel the acetate sheet away from the mat.

12. And then you have a reusable stencil! I love using them on floors to mimic the look of patterned tile, on pillow covers, and signs.

Supplies for DIY Floral Block Rug:

• Plain rug
• Stencil brush
• Acrylic or exterior enamel paint
• Easy Tack Spray (optional but it helps)
• Tape measure
• Washable marker

The Steps to Make a DIY Floral Block Rug:

1. Be sure your rug is clean of dust, dirt, and debris. (I just took a leaf blower to mine since it’s outdoor.)

2. Measure your rug with the tape measure and begin marking a grid with a washable marker. I did this by placing the tape measure across the rug about 12″ from the edge and marked a dot every 24″ along the tape measure. Once my first row was marked, I slid the tape measure over 12″ and repeated the process marking every 24″ but started marking 24″ from the edge of the rug to alternate the previous row.

3. Repeat marking every 24″ along the tape measure across the rug until you have your grid pattern.

4. Now, you’re ready to stencil. Spray one side of the stencil first with Easy Tack Spray. If you don’t have any, it’s not necessary, but it does help the stencil temporarily stick to the rug to prevent the stencil from shifting. (By the way, make a plan for where you’re starting to paint and don’t stencil yourself into a corner.)

5. Place the stencil on your very first dot your marked on the rug so that the dot is in the middle of the cut-out image. I patted down the stencil with a paper towel so the paint wouldn’t rub off on my hand but the pressure would help the adhesive stick to the rug better.

6. Once you’re satisfied with its position, dip the very end of your stencil brush in the paint and pounce your brush (don’t use a brush stroke movement) on the stencil.

7. Peel up the stencil and repeat on the next dot on the grid pattern until your rug is covered. Let dry for a 2-3 hours before walking on it.

It turned out so cute!!!! I really wasn’t sure if this would work out, but my gosh it looks EXACTLY as I had hoped on our back porch!

That cute floral block pattern was just the thing it was missing.

I had to get an obligatory glowy nighttime shot, of course.

And now I think I’m down to stencil a floor in our house somewhere because this was so gratifying.

What do you think? Like? Have you ever stenciled anything before? Or used a Cricut machine? This newb needs to know all the tricks!

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