But I'm also trying to pinch my pennies. So, that means I'm trying to head to these stores for inspiration only.
We needed a new door mat for our front door and I thought this was a good opportunity to flex my penny pinching muscles. So, I checked out Target for a very
The result - My "the muck stops here." door mat. I love it.
I'm not much of an artist (pronounced ar-tiste). I have relatives who went to art school and create amazing things with a pencil, paint and some paintbrushes. But not me. Me? I'm... crafty (feel free to queue up the Beastie Boys. Go on, I'll wait.). I'm more of an engineer of fabric, yarn, vinyl, and the like, which is why I love, love, love my Silhouette.
Cheap doormat procured, I used my Silhouette to design my saying. I briefly toyed with the idea of doing a huge, bright "hello" but, given the snow, sleet, and rain we currently have here, I decided to go... dirty. And so, 'the muck stops here.' was born.
Once the vinyl was cut, I found the center of my floor mat and placed my vinyl. I added newspaper around the edges to keep the paint from spraying back.
I then used some leftover spray paint and used 2 (light) coats. My daughter asked why I used 'dirt' colored spray paint and I told her that was kind of the point - any added dirt is just decoration (wink, wink).
Et voila! The $5 door mat is done. When the weather changes, I'll do another. The design will likely be bigger and brighter but the mat won't be any more expensive.
In the future, I may try applying fabric paint with a brush to see how the result differs. I might also try some designs on the background. And, while I haven't tried it, I think a similar result could be obtained by using stickers or a ready-made stencil. So many options for a $5 door mat. Enjoy!