doormat diy

How To Make A Fun Doormat With Cricut

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cute door mat design

When I told some of my friends I have a Cricut, they freaked out. I am not exaggerating. It is the honest truth. It seems that Cricut is the holy grail of the crafty tribe. Literally.

Now that I have a Cricut and have used it a fair amount, I know why. It is so easy to use and very versatile, it makes my crafty dreams come true.

In this “Crafting Your Way To A Beautiful Home” series, I am focusing on home décor. Related to this, something that I have been needing desperately for the longest time is a new and colorful doormat, so I decided to tackle that project.

Am I the only one around here that has not been able to find a unique, colorful, and fun door mat for their home? I have looked everywhere and haven’t been able to find something to my taste.

Well, thanks to Cricut, this is not a problem anymore because when I looked through the Home Décor projects available on their website, I found this project in the Cricut Design Space:

Cute, ha?

I didn’t want that much color or motives, so I decided to do only two in the middle. Here is what I did:

How to make a fun doormat with Cricut

Difficulty (1-5): 2  Time: 1 hr Cost: $40

Materials

*I bought the exterior paint at Michael’s but couldn’t find the links to them online.

cricut design space
Instructions

1) Find your project in Cricut Design Space for the DIY Aztec Rug. It has seven images on the canvas to cover the whole mattress but I only used it two for a simpler look. Place your vinyl on the StandardGrip Mat and let Cricut do its thing.

2) Weed excess stencil vinyl from around and inside the images with the weeding tool.

door mat stencil

3) Find the center of your door mat and place the first stencil to the right and the other one to the left. Be careful doing this because the stencil is sticky and gets stuck together easily. Make sure this doesn’t happen.

decorate door mat

4) Apply paint to fill in the design using the small brush and the exterior paint.

how to make a door mat cricutbeautiful doormat

5) After the paint dries, remove the stencil and voila! Now you have a new, fun, colorful door mat! Very simple and cute.

Here are more photos of the final product:

make your own door mat with cricutdoor mat cricutmake your own door matdoor mat handmadedoor mat door mat diyhow to decorate door mat

My entrance looks so much better, don’t you think?

Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow I will post about another fun project I did with Cricut for my kid’s bedroom. To read about my opinions and general views on Cricut, go here.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Comments submitted may be displayed or featured on other websites owned by Cricut.

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Crafting Your Way To a Beautiful Home With Cricut

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The easiest way to improve your home when you are in a budget is doing your own crafts and DIY projects. Of course!

I understand that the idea of crafting your way to a beautiful home sounds easier than it actually is. Not everybody has the time, the tools, nor the desire to go this route, but what if I told you there are a LOT of amazing tools out there that can spark your creativity and are very easy to use?

When I started this blog 1 1/2 years ago, my DIY experience was limited or non-existent. Not only that, but my TALENT was limited and non-existent. In a lot of ways, it still is. I am not a natural at these things, but I like them, and more than that, I like to have a beautiful home that people are happy to visit. Is that crazy? Blame the Taurus in me, but, if you are reading this, I am sure you kind of agree.

This is the reason why I was so happy to be invited to do three posts using the Cricut, a machine that will help you achieve most of the crafts projects that your heart desires in a very, VERY easy, dummy-proof manner.

For my posts, I decided to do crafts related to home décor. Now that I have finished them (and you will see the results when you come back later this week), let’s start with the basics:

What in the world is the Cricut?

Well, it is very simple, the Cricut is a very cool machine (see photos) that cuts almost all materials up to 2mm of thickness in every shape or form you want. The Cricut also prints some of these materials, but the BEST part of the Cricut, in my opinion, is its website and support.

Doing a project is as easy as going into the Cricut Design Space, select the project you want to do from thousands of projects and follow the instructions. Just do what the site tells you to do, step by step, and that is it. Easy peachy, my friends!

But you also have the flexibility of creating your own custom project if you want, almost anything you can imagine (except guessing the numbers of the winning Lottery ticket because no machine does that)

When I first heard about the Cricut, I knew I had to have it. Then, when they offered me to do this series, I got kind of scared… What if I didn’t know how to use it well enough?

Well, as soon as I took it from its nice box and connected it to my computer I realized there was nothing to fear. All the steps, all the knowledge showed up on the screen and I just followed instruction. Seriously awesome!

It even comes with a small project for you to get acquainted with your new best friend:

That is the Cricut creating a simple and beautiful card to welcome you to its world. 🙂

Here are some projects that other bloggers have done with the Cricut that I LOVE:

PMQ for Two

Glamour and Grace

The Tomkat Studio

And don’t forget to come back on Wednesday to take a look at the first project I did to beautify my home. Pretty cute, I must say. See you Wednesday, everybody!

 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Comments submitted may be displayed or featured on other websites owned by Cricut.

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new light fixture

A New Light Fixture For Our Living Room

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new light fixture

I have a confession to make! The light fixture we have had in our living room since we got the house five years ago is HORRIBLE. I am not exaggerating. Want to see?

ugly light fixture

You might be wondering, how is it that you have never seen this affront to humanity before in my posts about the One Room Challenge, Mural, garland, or bookshelves? Well, that goes to show that perspective and photography is everything in the world of blogging. I intelligently hid this crappy lamp so it wouldn’t cause you a heart attack. Thank you very much.

Why did it take me so long to update the light fixture? Because I wanted a bronze chandelier that costs more than $1,000 and I was never able to justify expending that kind of $$$. I had my heart set on it, but, as time went by, my conscience couldn’t pull the plug on such a splurge. I decided to find a cheaper route.

Such was the state of affairs in the interior design world of my home when my friend Stephanie from Casa Watkins Living posted a photo to her IG account with the latest summer collection at IKEA. Take a look:

It had a lot of cute boho pieces and those beautiful Jassa lamp shades! No exaggeration, I was in IKEA within 2 days of seeing this post ready to change my light fixture. The only problem was that I didn’t want such a neutral color, but because this lamp shade had a natural finish, it was easy to spray over and give it a completely different look, I went for bright yellow. Why not? Remember, this is my year of color! I am embracing it, I am living it and I want it everywhere in my life.jassa ikea light fixture

Here is the lamp shade before spraying it.

I love when I can take a cheap piece and do minimal work to give it a completely new look. IKEA pieces are perfect for this because they are so cheap that it doesn’t matter if you fail because the investment is minimal. In this case, the cord and shade cost $40. A big difference from $1,000!!!! I am going to be able to do so much cool stuff with that extra money in my budget. He.

Here are some photos of the final product:

jassa lamp lighting living roomchoosing a new lamp shadeyellow lamp shadelamp shade lamp makeover lighting yellow lamplamp shadeIkea light fixture boho lamp
So, what do you think? Isn’t better?

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A Fun Painting + Printables

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Here we go with another installment of Inspired by DIY! If you want to take a look at what I did for the previous challenges, you can go here for the colorful cement planters and here for the romantic flower arrangement.

This month other bloggers and I are finding inspiration in Miles Redd, a designer that is all about bright colors and exotic details. I love his vibrant style and wish to replicate it in my small home (some of the examples where I have tried to use a lot of color in my home are here, here and here.) I wonder if I should do something like that for my next One Room Challenge. I might tackle my bedroom in the Fall and I want lots of color in it.

Back to the challenge, when I was searching for images to get inspired for this project, I found this one of Miles Redd’s home in Architectural Digest:

L-O-V-E!!!!!

Everything about this image is amazeballs, don’t you think? But what caught my eye was that simple piece of art: colorful, modern, and attention grabber. It adds THE touch to this space that makes it absolutely unique so I thought “ I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE” (yes, I usually scream in my head).

I have been trying my painting skills lately, you can see the proof here and here, so I thought I could tackle this project. To start with, I did a version of the painting in Photoshop to make sure all my lines were aligned correctly. I also decided to make a mirror version of the original painting and change the color to PINK!

I have always wanted to add art in front of our mural in the living room, but I hadn’t found exactly what I wanted until I saw this.

Here is how I did it

Modern Colorful Painting 

Difficulty (1-5): 1  Time: 1 hour Cost: $15-20

Materials

I couldn’t easily find a large golden frame for my 18 x 24 in painting. I didn’t want to drive far to get it, so I bought a wooden one and painted it. I think Ikea has large golden frames if you need.

Materials to transform a large wooden frame into a golden frame:

  • Sandpaper
  • Gold spray paint

Instructions

1) Print your printable that outlines this painting (see links for printable above, under materials). If you choose to do a size 18 x 24in painting like I did, you will need to get the printable printed at a printing shop unless you have a HUGE printer. For the straight lines, use blue tape.

2) Paint inside your lines with the color you chose.

3) Frame your painting

Instructions to create your golden frame from a wooden frame (paint attaches better to wood than plastic):

1) Sand the frame with sand paper and spray it with gold paint. Remember to not aim directly to the frame when you first press the spray button, this will help to avoid applying excessive paint and drips.The result:

I think it makes the mural wall look a lot more fun, don’t you think?

I  hope you liked it.

Before you go, I wanted to thank the hosts of this challenge Jess from Domicile 37 and Kathryn from Up to Date Interiors. Thanks ladies for organizing all of this!

Now,  check out the projects of my fellow bloggers in these links.

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A Chair Makeover and Our Dining Room

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This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item through one of the links, I may receive a small percentage of that sale.  Thank you for making Jest Cafe possible.

I was driving back home a couple of weeks ago when I found this beauty on my neighbor’s front yard:

She was standing alone  and sad so I snatched her. I have been looking for new chairs for my dining room for a while so I thought, why not?

These kind of chairs are not expensive. You can find them on Amazon for $85 a pair, free shipping with Prime.  In any case, I am always trying to find cheap/free stuff with beauty potential so I grabbed it and fixed it up.

Painting a wooden chair is relatively easy, but there are some important tips you can follow if you want it to look “fancy.”

The first tip is to keep kids under 6 away from this project. Kids are no good when it comes to paint and furniture. No matter what they promise, no matter what you say, they will ruin your work as soon as you turn your back on them (or is it only my kids?). Also, spray paint is pretty toxic, which gives you another great excuse to keep them far, far away from this task.

The second tip for painting a chair (and any DIY project) is to have PATIENCE! Don’t hurry up. Wait until you complete each task throughly. No shortcuts! Take your time, please.

Here is what you need to do for a wooden chair makeover:

How to Paint a Wooden Chair

Difficulty (1-5): 2  Time: 2 hours + 2 days to dry  Cost: $10

Materials:

  • Chair
  • Sand paper – Medium grit
  • Small wood block to wrap sand paper around (I used a 2″ x 4″). I also had a sand paper block but you don’t need it
  • 1 can of glossy spray paint in whatever color you want – I used Malachite color from the Montana gold brand. If you can’t find the color you want in glossy finish, buy a glossy clear spray paint to apply afterwards
  • Big rug or plastic – to put under the chair when painting
  • Dust mask – Optional. It will keep you from inhaling a lot of the toxic paint fumes

Instructions

1) Sand the chair. Sandpaper comes in different grits based on the number of sand granules per square inch of paper. A high grit means a finer sandpaper, while a low grit means a coarser sandpaper. Medium grits, such as #120 and #150, are useful for removing old finish or scratches without damaging the wood. I used a medium grit sandpaper for this project.

Wrap the sand paper around the wood block and use it for sanding flat surfaces. This helps to sand only the imperfections that are above the surface.  Use the sandpaper alone (or sandpaper block)  when sanding curved surfaces. Sanding your chair is important because all the details that you don’t easily see before sanding (like holes or bumps) will clearly show up after you paint your chair. Be patient! Pay attention to detail! Don’t rush through this or you will have to come back again to sand back the imperfections that show up after a fresh and smooth coat of paint had been applied.

Rub surfaces to feel for smoothness!

This is how my chair looked after I finished sanding it:

2) Wash the chair with soap and water. Wait until it is completely dry before moving on to the next step.
3) Start spraying. Make sure the spray can is around 8″ -10″ away from the surface you are trying to paint. Don’t start spraying directly into the chair, this could create drips if you apply too much paint (see below). Start spraying by aiming away from the chair and then go into applying smooth strokes to the chair. Again, take your time with this step. You don’t want to create drips with your paint like these ones: Because then you will have to sand down the imperfections all over again! Whatever imperfections show up, you will need to sand them down the day after you spray paint, otherwise the dust will settle on the damp paint.

When painting, you need to get to all the “difficult” places. Turn the chair upside down and make sure no space is left without paint.

4) If you spray painted your chair with a flat finish like I did, you will need to add a coat of glossy transparent spray paint to give it a glossy finish. A glossy finish is VERY important for kitchen furniture, especially. It is easier to wipe down when dirty with filthy children’s food.

Here is the after photo of that (previously) ugly chair:
Here are photos of  the chair in our dining room. By the way, I am taking this opportunity to introduce our little dining room to all of you! I have not shared photos of it before. You might already know that our house is small, so this little breakfast nook works as the dining room, project table, homework space, and many other things. I like how happy and vibrant it is.The Saltillo tile that George installed is pretty charming. It gives the kitchen a rustic look.
The seats work as drawers for storage, too. The shelf has vintage finds and a beautiful plant. Just how I like it.

Some old baby shoes just hanging in there because they look cute. No sentimental reason.

I just ordered 2 more wooden chairs from Amazon so I can paint them and add them to the dining room. The chair I just painted looks cute but lonely. It needs some company, so I will be making some friends for her this weekend.

Have a wonderful day!

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