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A couple months ago we had a few friends move into new homes. I had been eyeing some really great personalized door mats on Etsy for a while but I was not going to pay $40 for a customized initial welcome mat that I knew I could do myself. Plus I don’t like my friends enough to shell out that much for a housewarming gift ;). So I did a little Pinterest research (follow me here!) on how to create my own DIY personalized door mat and figured, hey, even I could do it!
I grabbed a couple IKEA Trampa doormats ($10 a piece, why not?!), some acrylic paint and a small foam dauber. The IKEA mats are coir, which is a natural fiber made from coconuts (fun fact!) and it’s a good material for a welcome mat because it’s flexible, absorbs water and is super durable. Here’s how I created my custom welcome mat, all within a single nap time:
- I used poster board to create a stencil and just drew it by hand. I then cut the stencil out of the poster board – it’s a little tricky because you are creating a negative space stencil, but it was do-able.
- Pour the paint into a container and hold the stencil in place. You could use pins to pin it down, too.
- Dab the paint into the negative space of your stencil very carefully. If you shift, your paint goes beyond the line of the stencil. Cuir fibers are really “raw” and uneven, so you have to keep your hand steady.
Let it dry for a day or so and enjoy! With the acrylic paint, the initial won’t be super durable but you could try an outdoor paint to make sure it’s there to stay. I keep the supplies to make these on-hand because they make a great housewarming gift, Christmas gift, or a thinking-of-you-just-because gift.
Like the idea? Pin it!
Looking for other naptime-worthy DIYs? Christmas in a Mason Jar // Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix Favors // Succulent Centerpiece
