I these doormats that Anthro has (thanks hotcocoa!) right now:
If one was crafty enough, do you think it would be possible to get a plain raffia mat and paint it? I mean, these designs are just painted on anyway, so couldn't I do it (um, theoretically at least) myself? With a stencil, perhaps?
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To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment ~ {Ralph Waldo Emerson}
I've never tried it but I bet you could. The only problem I could imagine is that the paint might just be on the surface and not down into the texture, know what I mean. And the edges might blur/bleed a little but that's not a problem per say, it just depends on the design and if it would look sloppy or not. But you could get a plain mat cheap so I say it doesn't hurt to try. Oh, also I'd make sure the paint is made for outdoors but I'm sure you thought of that already.
Another thought, if you paint it yourself it might wear off easier with wear and tear.
I would be worried about the paint bleeding into/through the design, but other than that...it's worth the try, right? Raffia mats can't be all that terribly expensive.
On a side note, I totally clicked on this thread hoping that crafty meant sneaky and that one of our lovely ST girls was playing detective about something.
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"But I want you to remember, I intend this breast satirically." Susan from Coupling
On a side note, I totally clicked on this thread hoping that crafty meant sneaky and that one of our lovely ST girls was playing detective about something.
So sorry to disappoint !
I'd thought about the paint either not sinking in or bleeding through the edges because I'm hardly an experienced stencil artist. But I was hoping if I dabbed the design on lightly with a brush/sponge to get the shape correct and then removed the stencil and worked more paint into the appropriate area I might be able to avoid those issues. I have no idea if it will work like that in real life.
If it doesn't, the door from the garage to the house needs a new doormat too. I'm sure my mess-ups could die a slow death in service there!
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To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment ~ {Ralph Waldo Emerson}
I think it was in Real Simple magazine where they had a DIY way to make a monogrammed door mat with a border. You might want to check on their website and see if they have it somewhere. It is worth a try.
I saw on tv people painting a doormat, it's simple but takes more paint than you think. If you want them to look like the Anthro ones, that might be difficult since the designs look rather intricate.
If it was me, I'd just buy them from Anthro. They are reasonably priced. After buying the materials to make it yourself not to mention the time and possible mess, it could end up costing more and you might not like it as much.
The thing with Anthro, too, is that eventually everything goes on sale, and it never really takes that long on the home stuff. Because of how intricate and precise those prints are, I think it could be really tough to stencil it yourself, but a more simple/graphic pattern like the monogram someone suggested would be more DIY-friendly.