Design Your Own Welcome Mat

The most economical way to accomplish this is to go to carpet places and ask if they have remnants available. Some will give you what they were going to discard anyway. Others might charge just a couple of dollars to sell you enough carpet fabric to create your welcome mat.

Now you are ready to create your design on a piece of paper. You can create a picture or play with fun and different wording. It can say "Welcome to the Smith's", for example, or it can be something funny or quirky. You can even apply a family crest or a corporate logo if you like. Work with it until it is pleasing to you and fit it over an old mat to make sure it is sized correctly. And if you are less talented, you can buy a stencil and apply it. Transfer the design to a plastic or cardboard sheet and cut it out with an exacto knife. Fit it on to your carpet piece and then tape it down to the carpet. Now cover the rest of the carpet with cloth or paper to protect it from any paint splatter. Using fabric paint, sponge paint the stenciled out areas. Make sure they are fully saturated with the fabric paint but be sure that it doesn't seep under the stencil.

Allow it to dry for a couple of hours so that the paint can be fully absorbed by the fabric and set in. Then remove all the paper and spray the mat with a fixative and you are ready to lay it at your front door and, with all your visitors, enjoy your new personalized welcome mat.