[FireWithin]

I want to make ds a car rug for Christmas, partially because it will be more personalized, but I am also hoping to make it more cheaply that the $30 rugs that have seen and like.

What kind of paint would you recommend? I looked at small fabric paint tubes. They dont't seem to match my needs. Could I just use tempera? would that flake off of the plain sheet I plan on using? How about wall paint?

If I can't buy the paints for less than $15 I will buy a rug, and use my energy toward another crafty present I want to make.

 

[GoodEats]

From your description, I gather you're making a floor cloth? When you make those, you can use regular latex paint (wall paint) and a clear sealer like polyurethane. You could probably use arcylic decorator paints, as well, if you're looking for smaller quantities. You could also use the samples they sell at Benjamin Moore (I think) for about $2. They're supposed to paint something like 2 square feet on your wall so you can gauge colors.

I'm not sure about using a sheet, though. It seems like it wouldn't have the body you'd want. Normally, people use artists' canvas or (a cheaper solution) a canvas drop cloth from the hardware store. You can get either in pretty large sizes.

So, if you get a drop cloth for about $5, use a quart of wall paint for the background and a couple of little tubes of acrylic for the details, I'd think you could keep it between $15 and $20. You could really do well if you have some old wall paint lying around or grab something from the "oops" rack at the paint store.

Tempra doesn't have the bendy quality of latex or acrylic. I would think it would flake.

 

[beanma]

how about fiber reactive dyes? like tie-dye stuff? could you paint that on?