Scrapbuster No. 27: DIY Mousepad with Tutorial

DIY Mousepad

As of Wednesday, I needed two more scrapbusters to finish out the month, but I had zip. nada. nothing.  My brain felt sluggish and I really didn’t know if it would be capable of producing any good ideas.  On top of that, I was at my desk at work and my mouse was acting up.  It was driving me nuts!  You see, I don’t have a mousepad...  or rather, I DIDN’T have a  mousepad!  I went home and made my own and it’s a perfect scrapbuster.

I used craft foam as the base.  You can buy a sheet of it at the craft store for $1.50.  I kicked around the idea of using neoprene, but decided it was too expensive.  The foam worked out just fine so I’m glad I went with it.

I am curious as to how well this will hold up over time, but the finished product seems to be as good as just about anything you can buy.  It was so cheap and easy that even if it lasts a couple of months, it will have been worth the time to make it.

My desk with my new mousepad.

Supplies Needed:

• 1 - 10 x 16 inch piece of craft foam (or 2 – 10 x 8 pieces)
• 1 - 10 x 8 inch fabric scrap
• Spray adhesive
• Sharp scissors or rotary cutter
• Large, heavy book

Instructions:

Step 1:  Cut your 10 x 16 piece of foam in half so it measures 10 x 8 inches (I just folded mine in half, but this taught me that cutting it would be easier).  Using a liberal amount of the spray adhesive in a well-ventilated area (preferable outdoors because the stuff stinks), thoroughly spray one side of each piece of foam, then glue the two pieces together.  Weight down with a heavy book and let glue dry. 

Foam glued together.

Foam is weighted down with a heavy book while drying.

 Step 2:  Once dry, spray the foam with a liberal amount of adhesive and carefully lay the fabric over the foam.  Press out any bubbles or wrinkles using your hands (the messy way), a popsicle stick, or a brayer.  Weight down with a heavy book and let glue dry.

Stretch the fabric over the gluey foam and smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles.

 Step 3:  Cut the mousepad down to the size you want.  I took my home mousepad, put it on top of my new one and traced around it with a marker.  I cut it down using a rotary cutter, then rounded the corners with a scissors.  It ended up measuring 9.5 x 7.5 inches.  You definitely want to cut it down as that’s the only way to make sure the glue goes all the way to the edge.

Cutting line is traced on and my new mousepad is ready to be cut out.

It occurs to me that these would be cute placemats or coasters, too.  Woo-who!  My brain is working again!