I have been needing a new doormat for some time now (as in I threw mine out a YEAR ago and still haven’t replaced it!!) and when I was at IKEA a few weeks back I saw this jute SINDAL rug. The texture and colour were perfect for my house and at $6.99 Canadian, the price was certainly right.
As lovely as the rug was though, it just needed a little something. A little something that made it unique.
Stamping the Mat
I have never stamped a rug before but had a moment of “why not?!” I grabbed my IOD block, stamps, and black ink. I knew the stamps wouldn’t leave a perfect image with the rough texture of the rug but I figured they would provide me with a basic outline that I could then fill in.
I started with the Grainery stamps and chose one wide stamp and one narrow one. I wanted a plaid like feel to the edges so stamped all the way around using this combination, overlapping them at the corners.
Filling in the Design
As I had expected, the bumpy texture didn’t allow for a clean image. The ink just left a light mark when I stamped the surface. The mark was good enough though to provide an outline that allowed me to fill it in using black ink and a small paint brush.
When filled, the ink did a beautiful job giving the design a nice worn and aged look without it looking factory produced and new.
The Middle of the Mat
To fill in the middle space, the Birds Branches Blossoms stamp finished off the character I was looking for. I added branches, leaves, and a couple of birds.
One of my favourite things about using these stamps is that they are pliable and bendable. I was able to elongate the branch in a way that looked proportional to the mat.
Variations
Even though I used stamps for my doormat, you could easily use painters tape to make stripes and draw or use a stencil for the design in the middle. You could also use black paint to get a more opaque look to the design.
With the worn, vintage look of the mat, I couldn’t resist borrowing a friend’s cottage step to photograph it before I took it home.
It was so easy to give this inexpensive mat a makeover I can’t wait to do another one. The possibilities are endless! What will you do with yours?
**Please note that this post includes affiliate links for your convenience. All links are for products that I have tried and use regularly. By using the link, it in no way increases the cost of the item to you should you choose to purchase. However, by using the link, a small portion of the sale is given back to help fund this blog. Thank you and Happy Painting! **
Pin for later…
