The other day, reader N sent me a link to this CB2 Pebble Mat and said she didn’t have time to work on the project now, but that it would be a fun dollar store craft. I agreed with her: it would be fun (and also, I don’t have time right now either! So many ideas, so little time.) As luck would have it, I stumbled across this project, posted by Meli Melo at After I Finish This Row. She’s already done it for us, so I get to post about it, and you get to make your own! You can use the multicolored river rocks like Meli did, or as reader N noted, Dollar Tree has black river rocks available as well. [click here for how to make a river rock pebble mat]
Project Estimate:
- 2 bags of river stone pebbles, $2
- 1 placemat or suitable sturdy fabric cut to preferred size, $1
- e6000, on hand
Total: $3
Additional Resources and Ideas:
- Felted stone rug at yes, i MADE that
- Tree Trimmings doormat at Anthropologie
30 Comments
Teacher Teacher
I like this a lot. I have so many wood accents in my apartment that this stone placemat will accent them nicely and give some much needed variety! Thanks for the idea.
Roseanna
Thank you for featuring my project today, and for the kind words!
Kevin
I was just curious how that feels to stand on? I was thinking it could make an interesting bath mat as well that massages your feet with the little bumps…
It looks awesome as a place mat and I might have to do some for my place :-) Great Job!
Lisa
I did this craft but instead of using a place mat I used an old vinly record!! It turned out great and is very sturdy. Very cute craft. what a great idea!!!
Sonia Barton
What a cool project.
Hey Lisa – you can put your vinyl record on a lazy susan and use it as a table center, to match the placemats!
Lisa
Sonia-
ooooh lala great idea! I was thinking about making another one and using it as a wall accent possibly. I don’t how i would go about hanging it though!
nataluna
oh hey i totally missed that you had posted this!
i wonder about options for the base fabric. i would be curious if anybody tries it with other materials than felt, because it seems to me that felt would be difficult to dry out after using it as a bath mat. i guess if the felt is synthetic it might not be so absorbent in the first place?
i had considered plastic canvas, but was afraid it wasn’t strong enough and/or that it would be visible between stones, and look ugly.
N
Fliptrx
What a great way to do an easy mosaic table for the garden, and wonderful bowls as well !!!! Bird baths anyone ?
zencupcake
I think this would make a perfect mat for underneath pet bowls. I have to make one for my doggy!
Kristin Warat
You could also make picture frames. Walmart has wooden frames in the craft section for less than a dollar. :)
clara
Drink Coasters anyone!
Brandy
I just made these for christmas present but I made trivets! They work really well for those hot pots and pans you don’t want to put on the counter or table. I made one oval for pots and a rectangle for casserole dishes.
Melanie
For a bath mat or dog dish mat maybe use the non-skid stuff you can buy at Wal-mart etc. in the shelf paper section?
Karon
What type of glue do you use for the mat before placing the pebbles on them. I think I saw e-6000 but I don’t know what that is.
heather
@Karon, e-6000 is a type of glue. You can get it in the glue section of any store (craft store, big box store). It’s in a grey tube with black letters, and it is great for gluing non-porous items together (great with glass, rocks, etc.)
Lynn
I would like to do it with regular beach stones – I have access to a Great Lake full. Any idea how to get the high gloss finish??
Rhonni
Rather than using a placemat, which seems too small to me, I suggest using a table runner.
Michelle
DO you think this could be made as a rug for the front door and be put outside? If, so what would you use under the stones?
heather
@Michelle, I would use an inexpensive flat floormat to glue the pebbles to.
Debbie
I have some of the smaller river stone pebbles and was thinking about using them on old, worn out ‘hot pads’ to make something to set hot pans or casserole dishes on at the table!
Sarah
@Lynn-You could use a rock tumbler…not sure how expensive they are but I have seen them in the kids section at Wal-Mart.
Dave
Oooh! I’m going for a rustic-ish cabin-esque theme in my living room, and this would be a great idea for making various accent items like coasters. I have cheap plastic coasters that I can totally transform by using these rocks. Thanks for the inspiration!
San Bernardino Car Accident
Very, very cool! You can definitely find some great finds at The Dollar Store!
Donna S
I fell in love with this idea to make into a bath mat (found it on Pinterst). After reading the comments, I want to make it into a doormat for my house. I’d like to see the neighborhood cats shred that mat.
As a preschool teacher aide I see some fun Christmas gifts in the future, too.
Thank you all for your commented ideas.
corrie
I have made this mat before as well,and thought people should know, that it takes way more than 2 bags of river rocks! I used 13 bags! The rocks in the bags are of various shapes and sizes ( obviously ) but most rocks I found were too bulbous or oddly shaped to use in the mat. Once I was finished though, the mat did look awesome! I just thought you should be aware that the cost of the mat may be more than $3!! good luck!!
Emily
I love cheap crafts so this is definitely the blog for me! Thanks for the post!
Emily
emilyp711.wordpress.com
Nadia
I would take great caution when using this as a bath mat. Having crossed many creeks and streams in my bare feet, I can tell you that wet pebbles are extremely slippery!!!
Carolyn
I would like to use these same pebbles on my pine mantel that surrounds my indoor gas fireplace. What kind of glue and grout will take the heat ? I have been buying bags of pebbles for months to do this project. I like to have something no one else has !
Carolyn
will store bought pebbles take a lot of heat ?