**Revitalizing an Old Doormat**

Before reviving this old doormat, it's essential to give it a good cleaning. To start, I'm shaking it out to remove any loose dirt and debris. Next, I'm sprinkling baking soda all over the mat to eliminate odors. This will also help soften the dirt and grime that has built up over time. Using a scrub brush, I gently brush the baking soda into the rug without scrubbing too hard, as the fibers of the doormat are delicate. The baking soda is left to sit for about ten minutes before being vacuumed off with a brush attachment to clean off any residual dirt and odors.

The next step in revitalizing the mat is to add a fresh coat of paint. I'm using a light pistachio green, but any light color or white would work great for this project. It's essential to shake up the paint before starting to ensure it's evenly mixed. Holding the can five to eight inches away from the mat, I spray the paint until the rug is evenly covered. This took about three coats for me, and it's crucial to practice safe spray painting to avoid any accidents.

**Designing the New Look**

To give the rug a new look, I'm using a freezer paper stencil. You can find this at your local grocery store, and it's an inexpensive way to create unique designs without breaking the bank. To prepare for stenciling, I'm cutting sheets of freezer paper that fit into my printer. If you don't have access to a printer, you can purchase pre-cut sheets of freezer paper or try alternative methods.

Before printing on the freezer paper, I'm doing a test sheet to determine which side of the paper should face up in the tray. A good trick for this is to add an X in the corner and see which side comes out as the bottom. In my case, the X came out on the bottom, so I know to put my freezer paper shiny side up.

With my test sheet complete, I'm cutting out a new design using only the letters. This is a reverse stencil, meaning that everything around the letters will be painted, making it easier to cut out. Using detail scissors or any other scissors you have, I carefully cut out the shapes to create a unique and personalized design.

**Attaching the Stencil**

To attach the stencils to the mat, I'm using an iron. It's essential to use the highest cotton setting and avoid steam, as this will help bond the plastic coating on the back of the paper to the mat. Working letter by letter, I iron over each area to secure the stencil in place.

After attaching the first set of letters, I'm adding a border using more freezer paper. You can use any shape or design you like or omit it altogether. For this example, I've chosen a simple rectangle with rounded edges. To attach the top layer of paint, I'm using a paper plate as a palette and some black acrylic paint rated for outdoor use.

**Painting the Final Design**

To complete my design, I'm stenciling using a foam pouncer or any bristled brush that will work great. Starting with the most detailed areas first, I apply multiple coats of paint to ensure full coverage. It's better to do this gradually than try to cover everything in one coat.

As I finish up the final touches, my doormat is transformed from a dull and faded mat to a vibrant and personalized piece of art. The freezer paper stencil has given it a unique touch that will brighten up my entryway. Every time I create a new design using this method, I'm amazed by the clean lines and crisp edges provided by ironing on the paper.

**The Final Result**

With the final coat of paint dry, it's time to take my newly revitalized doormat outside. As I step out into the sun, I'm thrilled with how it looks. The pistachio green provides a fresh and clean base for the design, while the black letters add a touch of personality to the mat.

Overall, this project has been an excellent way to upcycle old materials and create something new and unique. If you're looking to try out a similar project, I encourage you to give it a shot. With a little creativity and some basic supplies, you can transform an old doormat into a beautiful piece of art that will add personality to any entryway.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI don't know why I decided to do this outside it's like windy it's like I'm either gonna look like Beyonce or a hot mess hey guys welcome back to hand-made I'm Liz and this is my backyard if we keep making these videos from home for long enough you may just see every room in my house so since I've been working from home I've been spending a lot more time outside and I've noticed that my doormat could use a little love so here it is and all of its mediocre glory miles what do you think should we spruce it up you do you want to are you gonna paint it are you looking for some fresh design ideas I'm gonna be honest normally I would just replace this every season or two but I'm trying to limit my trips out and craft with what I already have so today I'm gonna show you how to clean an old doormat and give it a fresh new look let's get started so before I revitalize this thing I need to give it a good cleaning and I'm starting by shaking it out so next I'm going to sprinkle it with baking soda which will help eliminate odors I mean it has been sitting here all winter brush the baking soda into the rug with a scrub brush and you don't want to scrub too hard here because the fibers of the roads are pretty delicate let it sit for about ten minutes then vacuum with a brush attachment to clean off any residual dirt and the baking soda so the doormat is looking a lot cleaner but the designs - leaves a lot to be desired the first step to revitalize it is to add a coat of spray paint I'm using a light pistachio green but any light color or white would work great this is just going to provide a base for the new design shake up your paint before you start and hold the can five to eight inches away from you mat you want to spray until it's evenly covered which took about three coats for me and always practice safe spray painting don't worry it was just the camera I'm fine my ego is bruised but I'm fine so to give the rug a new look I'm going to use a freezer paper stencil I'm using a roll of freezer paper and you can get this at the grocery store I'm going to cut sheets that will fit into my printer and I'm using a sheet of eight-and-a-half by 11 paper as a guide you can also purchase pre-cut sheets of freezer paper for your printer but like I said I'm crafting with what I already have before we print on the freezer paper I'm doing a test sheet this will tell me what side of paper to put facing up in the tray a good trick for this is to add an X in the corner you can see that the X came out on the bottom so I know to put my freezer paper shiny side up so the design prints on the mat side now let's cut this thing out I'm saving only the letters because this is a reverse stencil meaning that everything around the letters will be painted this also makes it a bit easier to cut everything out if you have detail scissors this makes the process a lot easier but of course any scissors you have are fine don't go out and buy something new just for this okay have you figured out what the mat is going to say yet I'm spelling out let's stay home because you know we all should if we can I'll link to this template in the comments below so now it's time to attach the stencils to the mat and for that we'll need an iron I'm using the highest cotton setting and it's important not to use any steam for this what's actually happening here is the plastic a coating on the back of the paper is bonding to the mat as you iron over it works best to go letter by letter I think that gives you a really firm bond the letters are attached and now I'm going to add a border with some more freezer paper I'm using a rectangle with rounded edges but you could do any shape you like or omit it altogether and add the top paint color all the way to the edges just a note that I tried to do this with painters tape but it really didn't adhere to the mat so freezer paper is definitely the way to go and now it's finally time to stencil I'm using a paper plate as a palette and some black acrylic paint make sure whatever paint you use is rated for outdoor use you could also spray-paint them out again with a different color if you have it like any sensing project you want to put your brush into the paint dab off some of the paint before you get started and then press straight down it's better to do multiple coats with just a little bit of paint than one coat with a lot of paint I started with stenciling with a foam pouncer but it didn't work the paint into the rug very well so I switched to a paint brush any bristled brush would work great I did three coats to get full coverage but that may vary based on the paint you use okay the stencil is dry and it's the moment of truth honestly I'm super nervous but let's see how it looks okay this is so satisfying every time I do a freezer paper stencil I'm amazed ironing on the paper gives you really clean lines you definitely want to try this let's take it outside this new and improved design is really going to brighten up my entryway and it felt good to get creative with things I already had on hand have you tried me up cycled crafts lately let me know in a comment below don't forget to Like subscribe and I'll see you next time byeI don't know why I decided to do this outside it's like windy it's like I'm either gonna look like Beyonce or a hot mess hey guys welcome back to hand-made I'm Liz and this is my backyard if we keep making these videos from home for long enough you may just see every room in my house so since I've been working from home I've been spending a lot more time outside and I've noticed that my doormat could use a little love so here it is and all of its mediocre glory miles what do you think should we spruce it up you do you want to are you gonna paint it are you looking for some fresh design ideas I'm gonna be honest normally I would just replace this every season or two but I'm trying to limit my trips out and craft with what I already have so today I'm gonna show you how to clean an old doormat and give it a fresh new look let's get started so before I revitalize this thing I need to give it a good cleaning and I'm starting by shaking it out so next I'm going to sprinkle it with baking soda which will help eliminate odors I mean it has been sitting here all winter brush the baking soda into the rug with a scrub brush and you don't want to scrub too hard here because the fibers of the roads are pretty delicate let it sit for about ten minutes then vacuum with a brush attachment to clean off any residual dirt and the baking soda so the doormat is looking a lot cleaner but the designs - leaves a lot to be desired the first step to revitalize it is to add a coat of spray paint I'm using a light pistachio green but any light color or white would work great this is just going to provide a base for the new design shake up your paint before you start and hold the can five to eight inches away from you mat you want to spray until it's evenly covered which took about three coats for me and always practice safe spray painting don't worry it was just the camera I'm fine my ego is bruised but I'm fine so to give the rug a new look I'm going to use a freezer paper stencil I'm using a roll of freezer paper and you can get this at the grocery store I'm going to cut sheets that will fit into my printer and I'm using a sheet of eight-and-a-half by 11 paper as a guide you can also purchase pre-cut sheets of freezer paper for your printer but like I said I'm crafting with what I already have before we print on the freezer paper I'm doing a test sheet this will tell me what side of paper to put facing up in the tray a good trick for this is to add an X in the corner you can see that the X came out on the bottom so I know to put my freezer paper shiny side up so the design prints on the mat side now let's cut this thing out I'm saving only the letters because this is a reverse stencil meaning that everything around the letters will be painted this also makes it a bit easier to cut everything out if you have detail scissors this makes the process a lot easier but of course any scissors you have are fine don't go out and buy something new just for this okay have you figured out what the mat is going to say yet I'm spelling out let's stay home because you know we all should if we can I'll link to this template in the comments below so now it's time to attach the stencils to the mat and for that we'll need an iron I'm using the highest cotton setting and it's important not to use any steam for this what's actually happening here is the plastic a coating on the back of the paper is bonding to the mat as you iron over it works best to go letter by letter I think that gives you a really firm bond the letters are attached and now I'm going to add a border with some more freezer paper I'm using a rectangle with rounded edges but you could do any shape you like or omit it altogether and add the top paint color all the way to the edges just a note that I tried to do this with painters tape but it really didn't adhere to the mat so freezer paper is definitely the way to go and now it's finally time to stencil I'm using a paper plate as a palette and some black acrylic paint make sure whatever paint you use is rated for outdoor use you could also spray-paint them out again with a different color if you have it like any sensing project you want to put your brush into the paint dab off some of the paint before you get started and then press straight down it's better to do multiple coats with just a little bit of paint than one coat with a lot of paint I started with stenciling with a foam pouncer but it didn't work the paint into the rug very well so I switched to a paint brush any bristled brush would work great I did three coats to get full coverage but that may vary based on the paint you use okay the stencil is dry and it's the moment of truth honestly I'm super nervous but let's see how it looks okay this is so satisfying every time I do a freezer paper stencil I'm amazed ironing on the paper gives you really clean lines you definitely want to try this let's take it outside this new and improved design is really going to brighten up my entryway and it felt good to get creative with things I already had on hand have you tried me up cycled crafts lately let me know in a comment below don't forget to Like subscribe and I'll see you next time bye\n"