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Please only use my file for personal use! Do not create items for sale to others using my handlettered design in any way. You also may not use the file in its original or in an altered form to sell it as an .svg or any other type of digital download.
A Fresh Greeting
I’ve been seeing fun DIY door mats all over social media lately (if you haven’t – remember, I run in crafty circles!) Anyway, I was more than ready to get one made up for our porch since ours was old and gross. I was able to find some time over Spring Break to knock it out!
This was suprisingly simple after following a few YouTube tutorials for tips on stenciling. There are lots of methods out there, but I went with a freezer paper stencil pressed onto my mat. I used acrylic paint marked as safe for outdoor use (found at WalMart!) and a stiff bristle stenciling brush to paint on a plain coir doormat. (I got my mat at Home Depot, then found this one at Target cheaper!)
From Handlettering to Doormat DIY
After this successful project, I really wanted to do one that I could share with you. (The one I made was created using free for personal use fonts – so the file I used to cut my stencil can’t be shared! I’ll be happy to tell you what fonts I used if you want to create it for yourself!) My sister was putting together a summer themed basket for an auction at her daughter’s school, so we thought a summer-themed door mat would be a unique addition.
I started with a hand-lettered “summertime.” There are lots of pieces of paper in my house right now with the word “summertime” drawn on them. I finally settled on this version:
Once I had my design, I snapped a picture with my phone, e-mailed it to myself, and uploaded it into Cricut’s Design Space to convert it to a cut file. If you’ve got a newer Cricut yourself, you should definitely play around with getting some of your own handwriting uploaded into Design Space to cut. It’s surprisingly easy!!
Convert to a Stencil
As the word is written, it cuts with “holes” detached for the s, e’s, and r. This is perfect when using vinyl, since you are using the letters themselves (the black of the photo!) When I stencil, I much prefer to have my holes attached for a more traditional stencil. I used to think this was incredibly annoying as you have to go back in later and fill in all of the little lines where the stencil was attached to the holes. But do you know what’s even more annoying than that? Keeping up with/ironing on a bunch of tiny pieces then hoping they stay put when you paint. Here’s what my cut file looked like after I added in the bars to keep the holes attached!
If you are using Cricut’s Design Space, here are links to the public Design Space files for both the original (holes not attached) and the stencil cut (holes attached)! No uploading, resizing, or anything at all needed if you’re making a door mat. If you’re on Silhouette, there is a .png for you to upload into your design software at the end of this post.
Cut It Out!
Once you’ve got your file ready to go, prepare your large cutting mat with freezer paper – shiny side down. Cut the file, weed the words (since it’s a stencil!), then remove the stencil carefully. I used to have curled up papers after cutting, then I came across the tip to pull the mat from the paper, and my life was changed. Go slow so that you don’t make any tears. I did tear one little bar on the big hole of the S in “Summertime,” but luckily there were two connectors – so no little piece to keep track of!
Place & Press
The next step is to place your stencil (& turn on your iron!). Take the time to get a ruler out! I just eyeball my placement first, then measure from the left and right edges to see if the gap from word to edge of the mat matches on each side. Once I get it centered horizontally, I work to get the design level by measuring from the bottom of the mat up to the bottom of the lower line of text in several places. If they all (pretty much) match, then I go for it.
Get the freezer paper placed, then press with a hot iron (no steam). Don’t rub the iron around, just set it down and apply pressure, pick it up, then do another spot. Continue until you get every inch of the freezer paper ironed down. If you pick at freezer paper, it WILL come up. It is not a super sticky bond, but it is stable if you don’t mess around with it. Watch the places you iron. You will be able to notice a difference in the surfaces that are adhered and those that aren’t. I repeat: Do not pick at the freezer paper!
Paint Time!
Once your freezer paper is applied, get your paint ready! I used a multi-surface acrylic paint. Anything labeled for outdoor use should work. The stiff bristled brushes are the only brushes I will ever use for stenciling ever again in my life. They hold paint well, but are great at letting it go. And on these mats, the bristles from the brush get down in the bristles for the mat, and it’s perfect!
While painting, keep the brush perpendicular to the mat. When you start getting crazy and sideways, that’s when your brush is going to get up under the stencil. (Which is a bad thing!) I had one spot where I had to put my finger onto the stencil to hold it as I painted around (I think it was around the hole of the ‘A’). If you see the stencil start to lift, just get your hand in there for extra security.
I do two coats of paint to try to get good coverage. If you have a spot that was troublesome with the stencil, hold off on the 2nd coat and do it with a small brush after you pull the stencil off!
Stencil Success!
I think that stenciling on a door mat is maybe the only stenciling I will do for a long time. Seriously, these things come off so clean! There is virtually no bleed since the excess paint can go straight down into the bristles of the mat. Pull off your stencil as soon as you get done painting, & enjoy your new DIY doormat! I think this is cute for a front porch, but would be great on a back porch too – where the livin’ really is easy! Do some yardwork, kick up your feet with a good book, then admire your handiwork as you slip back inside.
What are you going to use the cut file for? Share pictures of your creations with me! If you’re doing a complete porch makeover, check out my shop for a custom wreath to freshen things up or this post for a DIY floral wreath!!
**Please use my file for personal use only! Do not create items for sale to others using my handlettered design in any way. You also may not use the file in its original or in an altered form to sell it as an .svg or any other type of digital download.