Heidi Swapp DIY Doormat!

With the quarantine continuing to go on (and on and on...) and being stuck in the house, we've started to look at all the projects in the house we've been putting off. One of those many things with my house that has not escaped my notice is our grimy, old front porch doormat. With the cherry tree in the front yard constantly dumping its goey mess on the porch, the old doormat has gotten pretty nasty! It's past time for an upgrade to the porch decor, so why not try this fun, super easy DIY from American Crafts and Heidi Swapp? It'll be a perfect addition for when we are finally allowed to have guests again!



For this project, we're working with the Heidi Swapp DIY line by American Crafts. There are a bunch of fun options for your doormat project, with borders, scripty fonts and more.





I chose the Heidi Swapp Doormat, "Hello/Goodbye" stencil and the black outdoor paint for my doormat. You're going to need other materials as well, like a plastic or paper plate to use as your palette, some painters tape (or masking tape) and a stiff brush.

American Crafts makes the perfect brushes for these stencils in 1 inch and 1.5 inch sizes (not pictured) but if you're like me and just have your favorite "trusty-rusty" (you know the one I'm talking about, the one that's too stiff for cutting in when painting a wall, but too good to throw out) it will work as well. If you're not using the stencil brush, you just have to be more careful with how you apply your paint.



The first step is to center your stencil.



Tape the corners down so it doesn't move around while you're tapping your paint onto it.



The technique here is to tap the paint onto the stencil, rather than sweep or stroke. You want to keep your brush straight up and down and avoid "smooshing." There are delicate cutouts in this stencil, and they will move on you if you aren't careful. If you're not afraid of getting a little dirty, hold down the delicate parts with your fingertip and pat the paint right over your finger. It washes off, I promise! ;)



Once your stencil is completely covered, carefully lift the tape and stencil to remove it. I stopped here because I didn't want to overcomplicate the design (I just love the cleverness of this one!), but if you want to add a border, make sure to let the first step dry completely first. You don't want to smudge your beautiful handiwork!



That's it! A super simple DIY that adds instant front door appeal to your house or apartment!