DIY Anchor Doormat: Guest Post by Callico Designs

Today Callie from Callico Designs is showing you how to make your own anchor doormat!

Nautical and beach themes tend to be high on my design list. I grew up spending every weekend of summer out on the boat with my parents…so naturally I love nautical. As mentioned in this post, I would love love love to have a beach house…some day.

In the mean time I will attempt to integrate some beach themed items into my city condo (Burlington is adjacent to the lake… that counts right?)

I have been on the search for a new doormat for quite some time now…why is it so hard to find a nice looking doormat that is not corny or boring? I have an inside door in my condo building (we have 8 condos, 4 downstairs and 4 upstairs), so it is not that important for it to be rugged enough to handle the harsh weather Vermont winters bring.

Any who, I decided to try and make my own!! Here is how I did it…

I bought a small, plain, 100% Sisal rug from T.J.Maxx for $9.99. Here is what it looked like…boring!!

I used my Silhouette Cameo (you could probably cut out sticker paper too) to cut out an Anchor in vinyl. I then stuck the vinyl onto the rug.

I decided that I wanted some more of the natural color to stay in the rug to balance out the blue, so I taped off the edges with some packing tape I had laying around (I would’ve used painters tape if I wasn’t too lazy to go find it in the basement).

Finally I brought the rug outside and put it on top of 2 pieces of cardboard for painting.

I used Velspar’s Satin indoor/outdoor paint in Indigo Steamer.

Then I started spraying the rug. I stayed about 10 inches away and went over the rug until it had solid paint coverage

Finally, I waited a few hours…then removed the vinyl decal and the tape around the outside. This is how she turned out! I’m in love! Now, I am thinking about all the other designs I can do!

Have any of you ever done a DIY door mat? Have you ever painted a rug before? I am tempted to go bigger on the next rug project!

You can find Callie blogging at Callico Designs