Easy, DIY Custom Door Mat. Perfect Christmas Gift!I

I love giving custom gifts for Christmas, but anytime you order something customized, you better be ready to fork out some extra dough! The best way to avoid those customization fees, is to just do it yourself!!

I spotted these awesome door mats at Potterybarn.com . They are the perfect gift for anyone of your list! But there's no way I'd spend $70-$110 USD a mat. Especially if using it outdoors. Can you imagine all the muddy feet!! I'd be yelling at my kiddos "Take off your boots BEFORE you step on the mat"!!!!

So, I decided to DIY this door mat for my parents for Christmas! (Hopefully, they aren't reading this!!) It turned out aHmazing, and now, I'm making one for everyone on my list.

Materials and tools:

• A natural, coir doormat. I like the TRAMPA one from Ikea. It comes in 2 sizes and the small one is only $6.99
• Painters tape
• Craft knife
• Printer and paper to cut out your design
• Spray Adhesive
• Spray paint or House&Canvas Furniture Paint
• House&Canvas paint brush

To get started, print out the initial you want on the mat. My parents last name is "Kelly", so I'm using a "K" for this project.

Make your stencil by carefully cutting out the initial. It's best to use a sharp craft knife on a cutting mat so you get crisp cuts.

Next, using your painters tape, tape off your border. You can make the border as thick as you like. Be sure to really press down on your tape so no paint leaks through.

Use your knife to cut out the extra tape bit as shown in the next photo. This will create a nice, seamless border.

Give the back of your initial cut-out a quick spray with spray adhesive and place it in the center of the mat. Lightly press to be sure it's stuck on there!!

Now you are ready to start panting!!

On this first mat, I used black spray paint. When using spray paint, always remember less is more. Work in thin layers. Spray lightly, let dry and spray again until you get a nice opaque finish.

My mat turned out awesome, but I found that the spray paint had quite a bit of over spray and gave the initial kind of a shadow.

On my next mat, I'm going to use House&Canvas Furniture Paint and a paint brush. I'm going to use my trusted stippling method you can find here to get the nice crisp lines that I am looking for.

House&Canvas Furniture Paint is great to use outdoors as well. It's durable and comes in 30 designer colours so you can really customize your gift!! This would look so pretty using Evergreen and Barndoor Red for a seasonal mat! The possibilities are endless!!