trash to treasure: chevron doormat!

i've been working on a big stenciling project [my very first!] that i can't wait to have finished enough to share! in the meantime, i noticed how drab & sad my front doormat was looking after 3ish years of use. it was originally a really cute jute-type one from world market with a cute asymmetrical green design on it. well, the green is all gone & the edges are looking really ratty. however, #1- not even a $16 little world market number is in the budget right now, & #2- we may or may not be moving soon & if we do, i'd love nothing more than to toss this one & not have to worry about moving it.

so... enter my best friends. tape + spray paint. nice thick 2 inch painter's tape & krylon's ivy leaf to be exact. i thought a chevron pattern would be a fun & easy way to go!

i cut 6 inch pieces of the tape with somewhat squared off tops & bottoms & then started at the center of the top row placing them in an approximate chevron pattern. luckily, the strips ended up fitting pretty well & looked pretty clean on the edges. the tape did not stick as well as i'd like [maybe clear packing tape would have been better?] but they did work a little better when i stepped down hard on each one with my foot. i also went back & stuck the points of each chevron down with a thumbtack to keep them from blowing up when i spray painted it.

i did the top & bottom rows first, & then did the middle row third to try to get the spacing as even as possible.

a little spray paint & there it is! not too terrible for squeezing just a little more life out of our worn out doormat. i like the extra pop of color & pattern at our doorway!

before:

after!