DIY Doormat

I am obsessed with Halloween and make a ton of new crafts every year.

This year I wanted to have a holiday welcome doormat.  It was easy and challenging at the same time. but I love how it turned out!

You'll need a coir doormat, Clear & Black Flex Seal Paint (I prefer the spray, but either will work), candy apple color  Apple Barrel multi surface acrylic paint, stencil of design (I used my Silhouette Cameo and cut it out of Vinyl), transfer tape (optional) and a small craft paintbrush (optional).

I have tried a good quality outdoor acrylic paint, and found nothing that lasts longer than Flex Seal paint for these mats.

I cut out my design on my silhouette cameo onto Oracal 651, I find it sticks a bit better. I used transfer tape to transfer the vinyl cutout to my mat.  This is the hardest part of the entire project, it doesn't like to stick very well.

  

I have used freezer paper before and ironed it on, the secured additionally with straight pins. Both options are challenging but work equally well.

Once you've gotten the stencil to stick and removed the transfer tape, 

you might need a minute after that frustration.  

You will want to cover any of the mat that you do not want painted. 

 I just reused my transfer tape and cut it to size.  

I found this worked really well.

You are ready to Spray the Black Flex Seal paint.  Make sure you are going straight down.  You'll want to do a few layers to get it good a covered.  Let the paint dry completely between layers.  I think I did four layers total.  If you are having a hard time with the smaller pieces sticking to the mat, you can stick straight pins straight down through the design and into the mat.

Some people take off the stencil when it's still wet, some wait until it's dry.

It's a personal preference.

I think it turned out pretty good with crisp lines, that's why you want to paint straight down, or the paint might get under the stencil.

Next, I grabbed the Acrylic paint and just dropped it right on the mat from standing and squirted it a bit.  You could use a paintbrush to fling it.  Practice a bit before doing it on the actual mat.

Once it's to your liking, let it dry completely.

Last, I sprayed the entire mat with Clear Flex Seal to help seal the red and help the design last longer, but this step is optional.

Put it out front and enjoy!

We found it to be a great conversation starter.

Update: It held up great all season!

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For all the Halloween posts on parties, games, crafts, and food on our blog click here.

2020 Survival Shirt

 

I threw a "Crappy Party" for Halloween this year and needed something to wear that was easy to host and play games in.  I thought this would be funny idea given the toilet paper shortage this year.

I designed it on my Silhouette Cameo.  Cut it out with HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl). Weeded out the extra HTV. 

I used my heat press to adhere the vinyl to the shirt.

I cut out dashed for the toilet paper and wanted to add a toilet paper roll on the sleeve.

I measured out 4 1/4" for the toilet paper sheets.

I heat presses the dashes on.

After I got everything heat pressed on I cut the bottom into toilet paper strips.

I cut off a few pieces for fun.  I safety pinned to cut off pieces to my pants and shoes, to represent when you have toilet paper stuck to you.

I put toilet paper cardboard rolls in my hair to look like rollers.

It was pretty fun, I got tons of complements on my costume and won Best Costume!

Would be fun for a Redneck Party!

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No Soliciting Sign

It's that time of year when our doorbell rings constantly from Solicitors.  Well, last week I had had enough.  We had solicitors every single night.  I had originally planned on making a cute porch rules sign but quickly changed my mind.  In our city, if you post a No Soliciting sign, solicitors are not allowed by law to ring your doorbell.  I had one posted underneath my address number on the front of the house.  But I was still getting solicitors.  They would tell me they didn't notice it.  So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a giant sign right in front of my door and underneath my doorbell.  This couldn't possibly be missed.  I even took it a step further and cut out a tiny vinyl No Soliciting sign to stick right on the doorbell itself.

I first made a list of our most common solicitors.

I then searched a little bit on Pinterest other signs for inspiration.  The top quote was very popular and funny.  I'm not quite sure who to give credit to for it, because it was on multiple sites and pins. If you are the author or know who is please let me know so I can give them proper credit. Otherwise, I wrote the rest myself with the list of solicitors I compiled. *use as inspiration for personal use only!

It's a little hard to read in the picture.

No Soliciting

Seriously,

Don't ring the bell,

Don't make it weird!

Our kids take all our money

You can't beat our TV, internet, and phone service

We have found Jesus, 

and won't lose him

We know who we are voting for

We kill our own bugs

My kids work for free

Solar panels are ugly

Nobody can get my lawn greener than my husband

We love our vacuum

We don't clean, so we never run out of supplies

Unless you are bringing me a

package from Amazon,

flowers, are here to clean, or

from Publisher's Clearing House

with a big check

Please go away!

Our dog is hungry and our trigger finger's twitchy

Always Welcome

Friends, Family

and Neighbors

I typed out what I wanted my sign to say and played around with different fonts until I was happy with the sign.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out Oracal 651 white vinyl.

The Oracal 651 is rated for outdoor use.

I split it into three sections to make it easier to cut and apply to the wood.

I purchased a piece of wood from my local hardware store and sanded it.

 I used a vinegar stain, I made for an earlier craft, on the wood.  I love the rustic look the color gives.

I then coated it with polyurethane for both protection and to help the vinyl adhere better to the wood.

I lined up the vinyl where I wanted it,

and marked it off for easy application.

I like to use contact paper instead of transfer paper to lift the vinyl lettering.  In my opinion, it works better and is cheaper.

Apply the letters where you want them.

Use a scrapper or credit card to rub the vinyl letters on.

I haven't had a single solicitor since placing my sign, knock on wood.  Almost everyone who has come to my door though loves it, it has been a great conversation piece.

I measured and designed a smaller simple sign for my doorbell.  I also cut it out of Oracal 651 (black) vinyl.

I don't think the solicitors can use the excuse they didn't see it now.

This is the cut-out I placed under the address number on my house.  Again, I used Oracal 651 Vinyl for outdoor use.

I wanted mine to be funny, but also right to the point.

*Use as inspiration for personal use only

Mother's Day Gift-Great Grandmother Pillow

A few years ago my husband bought me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.  I have just recently gotten the bug to figure out all the neat things you can make with it.  Originally I wanted it for scrapbooking.  Honestly, I have gotten way more interested in cutting vinyl for signs, walls, and such. 

I decided I wanted to try making some shirts for our family.  With three girls, our clothing bill is getting extreme.  The girls love to make stuff, and with this machine the T-shirts look like you bought them.  So, we decided it was time to buy a heat press.  A heat press makes this process so much easier and quicker than an iron.  It offers equal heat preventing spots that don't stick the vinyl completely to the shirt. 

I've been wanting to make my 91 year old Grandmother a gift, but what do you make the woman who has everything?  I wanted to make something she'd actually use, but also be meaningful.  I am really close to my grandmother, so I really wanted it to be special.  Her life's work and purpose was raising her family.  I wanted her to know that she is still loved.  Sometimes she needs a reminder of the people who love her, when she's having a bad day.  Which when your 91, there aren't many days she isn't in pain.  I thought this pillow would offer her comfort, remind her of her family, and just be something beautiful to look at.  I put a cute saying on the front about great Grandmas and all the names of her great grandchildren on the back.

I started by designing the pillow on my Silhouette Cameo.  I like to find fonts on dafonts.com.  They have tons that are free for personal use or very little cost for commercial use.  Don't forget to mirror your image.  I then cut out my design on HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) with my Silhouettte Cameo.  I personally like Siser Easyweed, but there are many products out there.

You could change the pillow to say:

Just when a mother thinks her work is done, someone calls her Grandma.

I decided the cheapest place to buy good quality pillows and pillow covers was at Ikea.  I settled on these.  They were about $5.

They offered the choice of a cotton pillow or feather pillow under $5.

 I opened the pillow cover and ironed it.  I then, stuck the cut HTV on top of the pillow centering it.

I put the pillow cover with HTV onto my Heat Press.  You could use an iron if you do not have a heat press.  Be careful not to burn yourself, and follow all safety instructions.

I always cover my HTV with a Teflon or Parchments paper to prevent it from coming off onto the hot surface.

I set my heat press to 315 for 15 seconds.  You might have to adjust the settings according to your particular heat press.

After the 15 seconds, I carefully removed the slip cover form the heat press.  I then removed the backing form the HTV, leaving the vinyl behind.  Check over your final product to make sure it is completely sticking to the pillow cover.

If you are not satisfied you can put it through the heat press one more time.  Don't forget your Teflon cover.

Time for the back side.  Since you have already put vinyl on the front side of the pillow cover you will need to put either a Teflon sheet or parchment paper on both front and  back of your pillow to keep the HTV from sticking to the heat press.

Repeat the steps for the heat press you used for the front of the pillow cover.

Once you are satisfied with your HTV, open your pillow and give it a good fluff.

The pillow has a huge annoying tag on it, so I cut my tag off.

Insert your pillow into the pillow cover, and there you have it a great gift in under 10 minutes.

Hope your Grandma loves her gift.

We'd love to hear how it turned out for you, so leave us a comment.

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