Welcome to my happy place of DIY, homemade, homegrown, handmade, nourished & crafted, whole hearted living. Finding magic in the mundane & growing some roots in the process.
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Have you ever fallen for something that you couldn’t get out of your mind? For months I have drooled over a fun but pricey Come As You Are doormat on Instagram and Pinterest. I can’t justify the price, knowing that the Muggle Mutt will eat it as soon as my back is turned, but man do I want one.
The Nirvana reference just plain makes my 90s girl heart happy. I’m Willie, Waylon, and Cash through and through but for a while, in 8th and 9th grade, I had a wacky unexplained angsty grunge phase.
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Now back to the post…
I guess you could say I was going for the anti-Clueless look. I wish I could find a good pic of me in Junior High, but I kind of hid from the camera for most of those years. Buck teeth and braces will do that to a girl. sigh. So, picture in your mind stringy blonde hair, some big hoop earrings, clunky construction boots, loads of flannel, and hella attitude. Yup, that was me. Oddly enough, I’m writing this while wearing a pearl snap. Guess I never really grew out of that flannel obsession. Maybe that explains the draw to the doormat? Who knows.
Since I couldn’t spend $45 plus shipping to buy the mat of my dreams, I decided to make my own. I don’t have a ton of pics of the process because I was just kind of winging it, but here’s how it went down.
I started trying to make a stencil out of vinyl but, duh, vinyl won’t stick to a coir mat. After wasting a bunch of time creating a stencil and then fighting to make it work, I ditched the idea and decided to freehand paint the letters by myself. I had the whole thing painted and drying in the time it took me to make the stupid vinyl stencil in the first place.
Stencil brushes and black craft paint made the whole project quick and budget-friendly.
I used a ruler to help keep things somewhat level. You could use a measure tape or level also. I just happened to have the ruler handy so that’s what I grabbed.
My letters are definitely not perfect, but neither am I so it’s fitting.
Speaking of not perfect, here’s a little dose of reality…
It’s pretty much a given that Dixie will have this chewed up in no time, so I’m trying really hard to not get attached. The pumpkin wreath fiasco is still too fresh. Every night before I go to sleep I repeat in my mind, I can make it through the puppy stage. I can make it through the puppy stage. I can make it through the puppy stage. You guys I AM gonna make it, right?
And now for the cliche, Instagram feet shot.
Just because.
The fun thing about this rug is you can personalize it to anything you can dream up!
Here are some ideas-
Home Sweet Home
Oh Hello
Yay! It’s You
Hey Good Looking
Whatup Buttercup
Fancy Meeting You Here
Hello There
The Neighbors Have Better Stuff
Alohomora
If you want to make your rug all sorts of perfect, you can buy ready cut stencil letters from the craft store or make a stencil from stencil plastic or heavy cardstock and a cutting machine. I heard if you straight pin the stencil to the rug before you start painting, it helps to hold it in place. I kinda dig homemade/artsy-fartsy so I’m cool with my wonky letters.
Cross your fingers this doormat lasts the week, ok?
Peace out!
You are so talented! Love it! Let’s get together for lunch again soon!
Yes, please!