Handmade Holiday

As the Holiday season was approaching, we wanted to think of a fun/creative/practical gift to send to our nearest and dearest clients, vendors and friends! What is something everyone can use... hhmm.... a DOORMAT! But not just any doormat... one with a personalized message that is completely unique to each household. Half the fun was figuring out what each one should say!

Then we were off to the hardware store to get our supplies. Let me tell you... these babies were a labor of love! Each one super time consuming, requiring very precise measuring, pining, and painting. The satisying feeling after the completeion of each one made it totally worth it!

Check out some of the before and after shots.

MATERIALS/SUPPLIES

Cricut Explore (you can absolutely use a stencil or hand cut designs that you desire)

Doormat (shape/size based on preference)

Poster Board

Sewing/Long Pins

Acrylic Paint (we recommend this over spray paint... we tried both)

Foam Paint Brushes (very important to have various sizes for difficult/fancy fonts)

Hair Paint Brushes (helps get the paint in between the bristles of the mat)

Pair of scissors

Yard Stick/Ruler

Paint Palate

Seelant Spray

STEPS

1. Make sure you have all of your supplies

2. Decide what you want your mat to say/design

3. Use a Cricut to cut out your artwork OR us a stencil OR cut out yourself

4. Decide placement of artwork on your mat

5. Use your yard stick/ruler to make sure it is straight/centered/symmetrical

6. Place sewing pins to hold your artwork in place. Pin in as many as you can, once you start painting the paper moves!

7. Begin painting with foam brush to initially get the paint on surface

8. Go over edges and fill in with hair paint brush

9. Pull off stencil and lay somewhere safe to dry

10. Once fully dry, spray a decent coat of clear gloss over the entire mat (not just artwork) to the seal the paint. 

The reactions we got from the recipients of these mats were amazing! People were touched that we took the time to create such a tailor-made thoughtful gift. Check out the finished products below. I only had to stand on a car to get the photos :)