Star Wars Garden Craft Week: The Empire Strikes Back

Yeah, I’m cheap, I’m thrifty and I don’t like to throw things away. I buy these cute doormats; you know with witty sayings like, “Go away!” on them or with gnomes frolicking between giant mushrooms.

Then the cute design that made me buy it fades away and I’m left with an old, boring and plain doormat—unacceptable. But there IS a solution; a Darth Vader doormat in colors that match my house.

Here’s how I did it:

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.

So how long will my stenciled doormat last? Who cares? I am keeping the stencil and the paint. I can literally touch this one up when company’s coming. As in, “What are you doing, Amanda?”

“Oh, just touching up the doormat.”

I’m high on fumes, meet me in the forum and we can talk about how bad that is for me. Wheeeeee!