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Tag: paint
DIY: Stenciled “Welcome To The Shit Show” Door Mat
I’ve been in need of a new welcome mat for like a year now, but I haven’t found the right one that I loved enough to invest in. Luckily I spotted these colorful and inexpensive door mats at IKEA. I knew I could probably stencil my own design onto it, and for $8 I really had nothing to lose. It turned out perfectly and it’s totally me.
I couldn’t think of a more (in)appropriate way to welcome guests into my home than with “Welcome to the shit show”. There always ends up being something weird or unexpected happening when we have people over, so this is basically a fair warning of what you’re getting into when you come over.
To make this happen, I had to first make a stencil. I printed my letters out and then used an exacto knife to cut the letters out of pieces of card stock.
I repeated a letter in the beginning of each new stencil so I could align it with the last letter stenciled. That way everything would be in line properly.
After I decided where I wanted the stencils to go, I just taped them to the mat and used a sponge to put regular craft paint on.
Keep the details of the letters by leaving pieces of them connected, you can fill them in later.
Use a small brush to fill in any spots and do any touch ups that are needed. After it dries a bit you can use a small pair of scissors to clip away any mistakes and sharpen up the lettering.
Let it dry over night before putting it out. I don’t know how well the paint will hold up to being stepped on, but I can always go back and do touch ups, so I’m not worried about it.
DIY: Mid-Century Googie Style Glass Mugs
Sometimes I find myself perusing the tablewares section for things I totally don’t need but always end up buying anyway. One of my most recent unnecessary purchases were these little 69 cent glass mugs from IKEA. I figured I could use them for something or another, and I thought the shape was pretty cool, but I thought they needed something to jazz them up. I decided to give them a midcentury, googie style makeover using craft paint and painters tape.
First I found some midcentury style clip art and printed it so I could make my stencil. I used an exacto knife to cut the shapes into painters tape.
Then I applied the tape to the glass in a random pattern.
I used a screen printing method to apply the paint. This is where you put on a drop of paint and use a squeegee to drag it across and fill in the stencil to create a smooth finish. You can use a sponge or brush, too, but it probably won’t have as smooth of a finish.
Make sure to remove the tape before the paint dries. Otherwise the tape will take the paint off with it.
Let the paint dry for about an hour and then place into a cool oven and set the heat to 350 degrees. Let bake for 30 minutes and then shut the oven off. Let the glass cool in the oven and then remove. The paint will be cured and washable.
Pretty neat looking cups for 70 cents, huh?
Melodrama 