Story Stones

I freaking love Pinterest. It's addicting. Long story short, saw these adorable things called Story Stones and knew I could make them too. Got myself some rocks and cracked open the paint and went to town! I love how they turned out and had a blast making them! I don't have any kids though so I won't be keeping them but instead plan to sell them in my Etsy shop. If you love them and want a set, hop on over to Etsy and check out my shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/starrygirlb?section_id=all

Paperbag Floors? Why yes, I think I will!

Why do linoleum floors exist? Does anyone ever actually say "I wish I had linoleum floors"? I can't imagine that they would. I certainly wouldn't utter those words. I hate them. They're cheap and tacky looking. And for awhile, I was stuck with them. Unaware of just how much wood, tile or laminate costs, we naively purchased a house which had linoleum and planned to replace them once we moved in. Yeah, that was the big plan. And then we found out just how much they really cost. Thousands of dollars. Not having that sort of cash at the time, we sucked it up and lived with the floors for three years. I would inwardly cringe every time someone came over and saw my hideous, plastic floors. Finally, we had Pergo floors installed. But to save money, we opted to leave the hideous laminate in our small half bathroom. Fast forward about four years to present day. I'd finally had enough. My house was just too nice to been seen with linoleum any longer. But it wasn't really very cost effective to have someone come and install a floor for such a tiny room. And then I saw something on Pinterest called a paperbag floor. It looked like faux stone or stained concrete but could be done on a small budget. I'm fairly crafty but wasn't sure I could do this one. So I read a lot of tutorials and researched it. Then I took the plunge. I was so pleased with the ease of the project and the end result that I wanted to post a tutorial here in the hopes that it may help someone else rid their home of vinyl flooring.

You will need:
Elmer's glue (gallon size jug, $14 at Lowes)
Paperbag or a roll of butchers paper (roll, $1 at Dollar Tree)
Oil Based Stain ($8 at Walmart)
Water Based Polyurethane ($16 at Walmart)
Rags (cut up an old white t-shirt)
Paintbrush ($1 at Dollar Tree)
Bowl or bucket ($1 at Dollar Tree)

All said, I did my floor for under $50. This can vary based on room size or brands of products you buy. I have plenty leftover if I wanted to do another floor too.

This is what I started with. Icky linoleum.

A lot of the tutorials I read said to remove baseboards. Well, that was more than I was comfortable doing so I opted to just cover them with painters tape. Very carefully placed, snugly adhered painters tape. 

The other thing that was common in other tutorials was to rip up and remove all existing flooring. Um, yeah, I opted not to do that either. Instead I just gave the linoleum a good sanding to remove the glossy texture so that the glue will stick.

Next, I tore up the paper into medium pieces. I kept my straight edge pieces separate to do the areas next to the baseboards. For the glue mixture, make a 50/50 mixture of glue and water and stir together. I had no idea how much I'd need so I decided to be real scientific about it. I took a red solo cup and did 3 cups full of each and stirred it with a paint stirrer. I didn't want to run out and have to make more after I started working. 

Now it's time to lay the paper. Crumple up each scrap of paper and then flatten back out. Did it in the glue mixture so that both sides are coated and wipe off any excess. It seriously only takes one or two attempts until you find the right amount of glue needed. Pick a starting point that will allow you to work your way out of the room. Once wet, lay the paper on the floor and smooth it out from the center to eliminate any bubbles. Keep repeating and as you lay each paper, always overlap your edges. The paper shrinks up when it dries so overlap a little more than you think you want it too. 

After letting your glue dry completely the staining can begin. I let my floor dry overnight. It's actually optional to do the staining step but it will really enhance your color. I debated but then opted to do the stain. I used Minwax oil based stain in Jacobean. To stain, I brushed it on, one section at a time, wiping away any excess with a clean rag. Then you let it dry for 24 hours. 

Once it's dry, be careful not to wear shoes on it or touch it more than necessary. It will still have a sort of tacky or sticky feel to the touch. I just put on socks and stepped only where needed. 

The polyurethane is the next step and it should be water based. The key to this is to brush it on very thinly and let it dry between coats. I did my first coat almost too thin but as I did the later coats went a little thicker though still keeping it reasonably thin. Dry times will vary by brand and thickness of coats. I gave mine about 2-2.5 hours between each coat and did a total of 6 coats. If this was a higher traffic area I'd probably do a few more than 6 but for the usage of this room, 6 was plenty. 

After your final coat is dry, remove the painters tape. Be sure to use a blade to cut along the edges of the floor before pulling the tape or else you will end up ripping your new floor where the polyurethane has dried onto your tape. Once the tape is removed, let the floor cure for a few days before your really walk on it too much or put decor/furniture down on it. 

All in all, I'm thrilled with the paperbag floor and wish is done it years ago! Easy, inexpensive and pretty!