DIY fall doormat

I had so much fun creating Monday's Moodboard post that was all about fall.  I typically try to hold myself off from fall decorating until early September, mainly so I don't get tired of things before Thanksgiving, but I'll admit I've already started doing a few small things like switching out my pillow covers with these.  I also really loved the doormat from Monday's post and thought I'd try DIYing my own.  

I started with this basic doormat from IKEA.  If you don't have an IKEA near you, this one is similar.

Then I used my Silhouette machine to cut the letters out of contact paper.  If you don't have a cutting machine like this, you can do the same thing with an X-ACTO knife.  I would just draw out your words with a permanent marker and then cut around the edges with the knife.  I used contact paper to create my stencil because I had some lying around and I think it worked pretty well.  If you are using a silhouette machine, I referenced this post and the settings were perfect for cutting contact paper.  

It was a little tricky peeling the back off and getting it positioned, but with a little patience I got it to work.  Because of the rough texture, the contact paper doesn't adhere super well to the rug, so I added painters tape around the edges to hold it in place.

Then I covered the rest of the mat with cardboard.

Then I lightly sprayed it with several coats of black spraypaint.  Don't get too close to the mat or the air from the spraypaint may blow the edges of the stencil up.

Peel away the stencil and cardboard and let it dry!  

This was my first time attempting a mat like this and here are a few things I learned that I would do differently next time.  Before I adhered the contact paper to the mat I would spray the back with some  spray adhesive to give it a little extra grip.  I actually sprayed under the edges of some of the areas with this spray and it did seem to help.  I think spraying the whole thing would make a big difference.  It help the edges stay in place a little better and prevent some of the bleeding.  I also might try painting it with something other than spraypaint to prevent the overspray. 

*This post contains affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you purchase some of the items in this post at no cost to you.  As always I only share things I love and think you would too!