You have your general welcome mat. But now we’re seeing porch mats that have clever or funny sayings on them! And, you can personalize them with your own favorite saying!
Darcie Liptrot shares how to customize your porch mat with a fun phrase.
Find more of Darcie’s ideas on Instagram, @darciedoesstuff
Personalized Porch Mats
There are a few different ways to create these fun projects:
- You can use a stencil
- You can free-hand it
- You can do a half and half (which is buy a mat that already has a bit of something on it and add to it)
No matter which way you go, durability & longevity is what you’re after and that comes with prep, paint selection, and process.
Prep
To prep, shake that mat like a Polaroid picture! Shake off all of the loose hairs and fibers. Then, go over it and pick off any other loose chunks. Because it’s a Coir mat, it may have fibers and chunks that are floating on top of the secure stuff.
Paint
Now for the paint! Many use an acrylic craft paint. But Darcie has found if you use an outdoor enamel, the oils in the paint really saturate the fibers of the Coir and stain it all the way through. So it’s not just sitting on top of the fibers. This is good because if it flakes off, no biggie! It’s colored all the way through the fiber. There are all kinds of colors and tint-able outdoor paints to choose from.
Process
The method you choose it up to you! You can stencil, free hand, or do a half and half! But no matter the method, the process is still the same. You’ll saturate the design with the paint until the fibers are all dyed. Then, layer it with a few coats until you get that hard-candy shell. After that, let it dry, and apply a clear coat on the color for added longevity.
Also, don’t be afraid to pop out of the mat box! Mess with it! Cut it up and see what happens. Layer it with rugs. Play with sizes, do a peek-a-boo! Get creative with it! Do you have a family motto? A favorite song? This could be the place to use it!
Supplies needed:
-Plain Coir Mat (available at target or IKEA in various sizes)
-Outdoor enamel/oil based paints
-Stiff Brushes in various sizes (the cheaper the better)
-Condemning bottles
-Sharpie for tracing if needed
-Stencil if desired
-Clear coat to seal for added durability and longevity
-Skewer if you want to cut out shapes (use it like you would when mapping out to carve a pumpkin
-Box cutter
-Scissors
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