DIY Door Mat

When I saw something similar to this online for $60,
my mom's voice came rushing back to me, "I can make that cheaper!"
So here's the easy-breezy steps to make your own.
I've seen a bunch of personalized mats online that are funny, so inspiration is endless.

But since we have 3 dogs, I went with this one.
Here's my Katie modeling Target's finest $10 plain mats. https://goo.gl/Du4KDW

Then with my handy dandy Cricut I designed what I wanted the mat to say.

Using the large 12x24 mat I cut it out on vinyl

Weed it opposite of what you'd normally do, because you want the stencil part.
I thought about saving the letters, but I wasn't ready to put them on anything, but if you think it through before hand, you could do two projects with one cut.

Then carefully lift the stencil and place on your mat.
Pressing down firmly so it sticks well to the mat.
Make sure you don't lose any on the inside bits, like on the "e, a and o".   

I used regular acrylic paint since that's what I had on hand, (but you could use outdoor acrylic paint) and a foam brush. Took about 2 full bottles. Make sure you really press the paint in and be careful not to move or lose the inside of the letters. I lost the middle of two of my "e"s and didn't realize it until I lifted the stencil off. But it doesn't bother me. At first I tried brushing the paint on and that wasn't working, so you need to push the paint in. I ended up just squirting the paint over the letters and that worked well. 

Let it dry for a few hours, even over night. I sealed mine with polyurethane and viola!

I really how it turned out and think they'd make great Christmas gifts. You could do family initial or their hobby...ideas are endless. Thanks for reading and if you make one, please tag me so I can see it and give you love xo xo xo
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