1. I choose a stencil that I liked from this site. I literally chose the one I thought would be easiest. 

2. I printed it out on an old manila folder so it would be sturdy and have some weight to it.

3. I cut it out with a razor blade and old kitchen cutting board. Secret? I haven’t put that stuff away from the Shrinky Dinks yet.

4. I measured the doormat and did the math; I could fit 2 rows and 4 columns. I taped off the grid to make it easier, plus I wanted the lines to show between each box.

5. I painted the area that would go directly beneath the stencil with soft yellow paint. The doormat sucks up paint so I had to do several layers. Always buy the best spray paint you can afford. I believe this; it’s inscribed inside my wedding band.

6. After letting that dry a bit, I sprayed the back of my new stencil with a little (ok, a lot) of spray adhesive so it would lay flat on the mat.

7. I stuck the stencil down and sprayed the bright green, using my angle to get a clean stencil. The ones on the left side aren’t as good as the ones on the right. I improved my game while I was playing it.

8. I pulled up the tape and voilà!

Troubleshooting: If you plan on doing this activity, bring the mat indoors a few days before you plan on stenciling it. My doormat was frozen to my stoop this morning and that lead to a whole lot of freaking out today. Also, don’t try it without the spray adhesive, I did and let me say that the $6 I spent on the spray adhesive was well spent. Plus, I love the smell. Mmmmmmm.

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