DIY Doormat

So, D and I recently tied the knot, and now my last name is Zaleski.  Zaleski.  Yep.  Totally Polish.  Totally unpronounceable by those who have never been exposed to it.  Even the DJ at our wedding couldn't get it right.  I can't imagine what will happen when I get back in the classroom.  Pretty sure I will be "Mrs. Z" to those cute little 6 and 7 year olds.

Zaleski.  Z.  Zed (to those Canadians).  It is the LAST letter of the alphabet.  My poor future children...they will forever be at the end of the line.  And poor us...I mean, think college graduations.  I pray they go to a small school because I might have to take a little nap between A-Y if it is a huge public institution.

Z.  Do you know how hard it is to find things that are monogrammed with a letter Z?  You know those cute block letters?  Have you ever seen a Z?  Nope.  What about those cute towels all my friends have in their bathrooms with their initial sewn perfectly?  Not the Zaleskis.




While I was back in Houston, I noticed a few friends had these great doormats from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I went to a few to scope it out.  Can you guess what happens next?  I didn't find one. UGH!  So, I decided to make my own.  Of course, HGTV, has decorations on how to make your own here.  I used this as a guide, and it was pretty simple, however I did have some variations.

Materials:

Sisal doormat

Square cardstock (HGTV had a circle around theirs, and used plates)

Initial Stencil

Sharpie

Acrylic Paint

Paint Brush

1.  I cut my cardstock to be 10x10 for the outer square, and traced on the mat with Sharpie

 after measuring equal distances from the sides and top so it would be centered. I was thinking the Sharpie would come out darker than what it did.  I thought I wouldn't be able to see it, but I could...

2.  I then cut the cardstock 9.5x9.5 for the inner square, and traced on the mat with Sharpie.

3.  I freehanded my Z on the remaining cardstock, and cut it out.  I traced it on the doormat with Sharpie.

4.  I then used black Acrylic paint and "colored" it in.  Don't be scared to get a good scoop of paint on your brush...it takes a lot!  After I got it all filled in, I went back with my paint brush and filled in some spots using a blotting motion.

Can you see the outline of my Z?  It is pretty light, but still there!

After filling it in with a blotting motion.

5.  Put on your doorstep!

See Sadie Cakes in the window??  Ha....I love her.

I am pretty happy with the result.  It was so much cheaper too!  I think I paid less than $10 for the doormat, and had all the other materials at home already. HOLLER!

--E