DIY Outdoor Game Rug

I had been searching for a patio rug for our camp trips. But I wasn’t a fan of the dated-looking designs. And if I did find a pretty cool design on a large rug, it was a bit pricey. So, of course, I thought I’d make my own! (Nothing new there! 😆)

I watched some YouTube videos and realized it was a pretty easy DIY project, and I could do the entire project for about $50. I would only need three things because we already have tarps and high-density foam paint rollers in our shop.

• $21 – 6×8 outdoor rug > made from 100% recycled bottles, waterproof (rinse off – doesn’t trap water – resists mold & mildew), UV resistant, stain-resistant
• $10 – frog tape > 1.88 in x 60 yards
• $18 – single quart exterior paint (we used Watermelon Slice in satin)

If you don’t have a tarp, Harbor Freight has them for less than $5; tarps are always handy to have on hand. And you can purchase high-density foam paint rollers in 4″ and 6″ widths (we had 6″ on hand).

The first step was coming up with the design. I started doodling on paper and then had the idea to make the rug dual purpose. We could use it as our trailer patio mat AND a simple outdoor rug game! (Our fam LOVES games. Have you seen our Bairds Date Wednesdays @ 8??)

The idea to borrow from Skee-Ball was almost immediate. I loved that game as a kid. And since the rug was a boxy rectangle, I could reverse to design so opposing teams could play simultaneously.

I designed it on Adobe Illustrator, pitched the idea to Trevor, and it was a go! Click link above for a PDF download of the design.

Since Home Depot carried the rug, we bought our three items in one stop.

Taping off the circles was a bit of a challenge. We used a length of string tied to a pushpin and then tied a sharpie to the other end (you’ll see it in the video). If you use a lighter color rug (like the beige option) or light-colored paint, I don’t recommend drawing the guidelines in black. I would have used my pushpin/string guide and then a box of pushpins to set the guidelines and then go back to tape.

I wanted to make sure I didn’t paint in the “negative” space, so I added blue painter’s tape to those areas to mark them as off-limits.

When I started painting, I realized the rug sucked up a lot of paint. I thought it would take more than the quart, but it didn’t!

And we have a couple of sets of bean bags we bought from Aldi that we use for our SkeeBag game rug, but you can always make your own!!

Watch our video below to see how we did it, beginning to end.