A Note From The Home Depot
Extend your hospitality outside the doors of your home with this fun and warm DIY Welcome Mat. Follow along below as Ashleigh Boyd of Ashleigh Lauren walks us through this simple, fun DIY. Run to The Home Depot for supplies and make your home welcoming!
How to Make a DIY Welcome Mat
Welcome mats are one of the easiest DIY projects you can make, and they’re always on trend! I’ll share one way to create a unique and fun one. The first thing you will want to do is find the perfect mat. I chose this 18 by 30–inch doormat because it would be perfect for this DIY. I flipped the doormat to its back because I'll be cutting it into a house shape.
Once I flipped the mat, I used my levelto measure the length of the doormat to find the center and then marked it.
After marking the center, I used my level to draw a line to meet the center on both sides. Your roof doesn't have to be a perfect triangle; you can create any style of roof you like.
Next, I created a chimney using a scrap piece as my straight edge. You can opt not to have one but I thought it would add a little bit more character!
After drawing out the chimney, it was time to cut the roof shape out. I carefully used my box cutter to cut those area
Once I completed that, I started to trim my mat with scissors to give it a nice, clean look.
Using letter stencils, I picked out the letters I needed to create the saying "hello." I punched them out first and placed them on my mat to determine where I wanted to add them to the doormat.
I then added the actual stencil in place of the letters and used head pins (you can use thumb tacks as well) to secure them to the doormat. Adding the pins will help keep the stencil from moving and lifting in certain areas while you add paint.
I used black outdoor paint and a stencil brush to start the stenciling process. I lightly dabbed onto the stencil, ensuring not too much paint was on my brush. I also used straight up and down motions when painting.
I repeated the steps until I added all thestencils needed. I made sure to overlap the letters where I needed them since I used cursive ones. Using the letters you punched out and connected will create a template that helps determine where each letter should connect when stenciling.
I also used a heat gun to speed up the drying process. Be careful if using a heat gun, because you can burn parts of your mat if you get too close.
The last thing I did was seal my letters with the flex seal. I used the clear variety and did about three coats.
Now I have this super cute house mat! I love how this turned out, and it was so much fun to do. I decided to style my doormat by layering it on another fun patterned mat! #Cheetahlicious. I hope you enjoyed this quick DIY project, and don't forget to tag me if you make one of your own.