Both of my sisters and their husbands bought houses this summer and I wanted to make them something that was practical for their new homes that had a bit of style. I remember when we first moved into our house almost 2 years ago there were so many small things that we didn't realize we needed. I remember buying about 5 or 6 mats for all the doors we had (front, back, garage, etc.)
I picked up 2 coir mats. Since my sisters read this blog (I think) I won't say how much they were, but they're reasonably priced. I then decided what I wanted to put on them to customize them.
I chose the first letter of each of their new last names, F and N. I measured the mat (18X36") and decided to make the letters 14 inches high, and chose a font for the letters. I think that it's nice to use an interesting font but I wouldn't recommend anything with too many curly parts on it. I had my husband cut out vinyl letters to use as stencils. It ended up that this wasn't the best plan as the vinyl is a bit fragile to remove from it's backing and we couldn't apply it as he usually would, as the vinyl didn't really stick to the mat. After doing it, I would recommend printing out your letters on cardstock and then using an exacto knife knife to cut out the letter and create a stencil. As the tips of the letters can shift as you apply paint, I would spray the cardstock with spray adhesive and then tape it down on the edges to secure it. I centered the stencils and then taped them down.
I looked on a few websites (including www.cityline.ca) to check into the type of paint that would work best and it seemed as though Latex was recommended the most. I used a sponge brush to dab the dark grey paint onto the stencil. The paint doesn't absorb very evenly, so dabbing a lot was the name of the game. I removed the stencil carefully as soon as I was done painting.
How cute are these? I hope they like them as much as I do...I just might have to make one for our house.
