penny pincher project {welcome mat diy}

i like to save a few bucks now and then, not according to my husband, but we aren't talking about him ;0)
i'm a penny pincher as it were. maybe not as much as my mom (she can make it scream!) but a thrifter by nature, yes.
i find it challenging to see what i can do with what i have or turn something someone else thinks is just a piece of nothing into something. i'm sure i've talked about this before, but i think it's partially to blame from my upbringing. we were taught to use what you have, make it work (yeah my mom was totally the first to use that-sorry tim gunn!), and see the beauty in whatever was around us. circumstances, beliefs or whatever the reason, that's the way it was.
to this day i have an affinity for older houses and their history and beauty, but that's another post entirely!

i love me some new things now and then, don't get me wrong, but i feel like we are such a "throw away" society. like everything is disposable and nothing really lasts. why is that? okay getting deep here. yet another post for another time! making a mental list. ok, re-focusing!

today i wanted to show you a quick and easy way for pinching those pennies! i'm hoping this is a new series...we'll see how we do ;0)

i like door mats. i feel like they say a little about you. i know it's JUST a door mat, and in the grand scheme of things not a big deal. but let's face it, we come in and out of our homes a lot and this is where we live and eat and sleep and have relationships. whoa deep! so i think doormats should be fun as well as utilitarian.

i recently noticed our welcome mat wasn't very welcoming and being a girl who can't leave well enough alone, i had to do something about it.

enter sample paint form Wal-Mart and Glidden. i love this stuff. it was about $2.50 i think for the sample bottle size. it comes in whatever color you want in satin paint. i also mixed in some varnish to protect the paint from the weather. you could use acrylic paint or spray paint as well.

all you need is
-a door mat (new or used, any type really)
-some paint (again any type you like)
-some letters to use as stencils. you could also use a shape or symbol. the possibilities are really endless.
-a paint brush and a roller brush
-a little patience and a few minutes

i stared with our used doormat from target? i've had for a year or so.

i started by shaking it out and then vacuuming it. i'm a little OCD sometimes so feel free to skip over the vacuum part if you like :)

i knew that i wanted the outside strip to be painted a bright mustard-y yellow color. we have this great little table and i wanted them to "go" together. it was also black and while i actually like brown and black together i didn't want them together on this project.

i took out my brush, put some paint on it and went to town. painting only the edge so i didn't get any paint on the "fabric" part on the inside.

i also made sure to kind of wiggle the paint into the trim. it's made from this plastic that has tiny waffle like pattern all in it, so i wanted to make sure i tried to fill them for a more consistent look.

i did one coat with acrylic alone as a base to help fill the trim, them went on to the Glidden paint for the actual color and look that i wanted.

here it is all trimmed out.

i then decided what i wanted on the inside. i chose a+j. awe!!!

i knew i wanted to have the letters be the brown, so i used some sticky letters i had and placed them where i wanted.

then i measured and framed out a block for the paint that was going to go around the letters. making a kind of relief look.

i painted over the letters using a rolling brush while being careful not to move the letters and accidentally paint underneath.
i removed the tape and sticky letters to reveal the brown letters on the mat.

one of the letters smudged a little but i don't mind. if i wanted i could go back in with brown paint and touch up but it's no biggy to me.

so there you go!

super simple and easy to do. like i said i just used paint and a mat that i had around.
you could really make this your own and do whatever colors and type of mat you wanted.

you could even get crazy and use a carpet remnant with a glued fabric boarder or even a metal mat spray painted a funky color with a huge symbol in the middle. go wild!

there you have it, penny pincher project: door mat

{pin this photo :)}

feel free to pin this project if you like. :)

what have you been painting lately? are you as serious about doormats as me? pinched any pennies lately?

happy welcoming and happy thursday!
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