Handsome arvest
Brighten up your outdoor space by spray-painting an old doormat with a sweet and easy apple motif.
INFORMATION Materials
* Doormat
* Clear sticky-back plastic * Craft knife
* Cutting mat
* Marker pen
* Pencil
* Spray paint in green and red * Masking tape
Size: 60 x 40cm (23 x 15 in) Rating: Easy
First impressions count, and this applies to your home as much as anything else. So what better way to cheer up your doorstep than with this sweet doormat, to give both you and your guests a wonderful welcome. It’s so easy to do with just spray paints, a stencil and sticky-back plastic. And if you don’t fancy this apple motif you can cut pretty much any shape you fancy to upcycle your doormat into something unique.
How to make the doormat
Cut a piece of sticky back plastic 3cm 1 (1 in) bigger than the doormat.
Trace the apple template on page 128 onto paper five times and cut them out. Using the picture opposite as a guide, position the apples on the back of the sticky-back plastic, spacing them out evenly.
Draw around each apple template 2 in pencil, then go over the pencil lines with marker pen. Place the plastic right side up onto a cutting mat and cut around each motif using a craft knife.
3 Peel the backing paper off the sticky-back plastic and stick it to the mat. (The sticky side should stick to the mat but will be easy to remove.) Press around the ‘apple holes’ of the stencil to prevent any spray leaking under the plastic.
4 Use masking tape to mask off the leaf design so that only the bodies of the apples are exposed. Place the mat onto an old sheet and spray red paint over the plastic using a sweeping motion (work in a well-ventilated area). Leave to dry for about 30-40 minutes, then repeat.
5 Leave the mat to dry completely, then remove the masking tape from the leaves. Now mask the red apples and leave only the leaves exposed. Use the green spray to colour in the leaves, using a sweeping motion. Leave to dry for 30-40 minutes, then repeat.
6 Leave the mat to dry completely for a few hours, then remove the masking tape and plastic stencil to reveal perfect apple shapes across the doormat.