The Welcome MAT

WELCOME!!  Come inside!!

When you think of a front door mat do you think of it as a "WELCOME" mat or just something to wipe your feet on?

To me, it's the first invitation to come inside that you receive when you arrive at someone's home.

It's THE first greeting -  "WELCOME!!!".

So today, I want to share this as my first blog craft project, as a way of welcoming you into my home and life.

"Come on in. YOU are welcome here".

This project actually began last year after I found myself working a photo op where I tried to hide the mat.

worn-out mat to the left

Our landlord cut back the bushes in front of the apartment after a late cold snap damaged them. So, we planted several flowering pots to fill in the dirty-brown void. As I took my pictures, I strategically eliminated the ugly worn-out mat. That's when it hit me, my doormat was no longer a welcome mat but rather just something to wipe feet.

So, a few weeks ago, as our T.N. spring approached, I decided it was time to do something about that ugly mat. I Googled "how to refurbish and recycle a worn-out rubber (tire material) doormat". I was surprised to find only a few out-of-date articles on the subject. My project quickly turned into one of those trial-and-error projects resulting in good and some bad elements. (The update follows the project.)

Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Clear

First, I gathered all my supplies including Joy dish soap, a scrub brush, old rags, a paper plate, foam paint applicators, Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover matte Clear Coat, and acrylic craft paint in various colors. I already had several acrylic paints on hand from another project, so I used them.

All supplies can be purchased at your local Walmart or a craft store.

Yellow, Lime Tree, Kelly Green, Admiral Blue, Blue Bonnet, Barn Red, Territorial Beige

Next, my husband scrubbed the mat really well with the brush and Joy dish soap. We used Joy dish soap because we always have it on hand for outside projects. It cleans with fewer suds than most other dish soap (great for windows and cars). After he scrubbed the mat and thoroughly rinsed it with the garden hose, we let it dry in the sunshine that afternoon. We did bring it inside to rest a few days because I couldn't get around to paint it right away.

Finally, it was time to paint. I started with light and dark blues because blue is my favorite color. Then I slowly added the light and dark greens, red, and yellow. I ONLY painted the raised surface. 

I painted the arrows and lines yellow, but didn't like it. So, I re-painted them Territorial Beige.

I spent several days painting each section and letting it dry, then repeating the process. The rubber was very porous, so it was necessary to apply several thick coats to get the desired look and coverage. The harsh texture of the mat was hard on the sponge applicators. I went through 2 packages.

Brown separated the arrows.

When I started painting, I didn't have a game-plan. I applied the colors pretty randomly; however, I feel like I achieved an unexpected but acceptable pattern. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION and from experience, its best to paint the light colors first. If the lighter color ends up in the wrong place, it is easier to cover it with the darker.

The very last step was to let the paint cure and set for a couple of days. After it cured, my husband applied 3-4 coats of the clear matte finish letting it dry between each coat. It took approximately one and a half cans to complete this step. Then we let the finished product set outside in the afternoon sun for a couple of days. We only brought it inside at night due to evening forecast and heavy morning dew.

It's finished!!!!

NOW - this is where it gets frustrating.

I considered not posting this mat project at all, 

but I changed my mind.

YOU NEED TO KNOW!!

So, here is the rest of my story - 

and my conclusion. 

My painted mat needs to be left under a covered porch or in a semi-protected place.

THE UPDATE:

After all our hard work, we quickly discovered that 

the process (per the online instructions) did NOT hold up.

Shingle grit left pit marks in my paint.

Our apartment front door is directly under the gutters, and when it rains, we get the shingle grit runoff on the front stoop. Within the first two to three days of the mat being in its place, that abrasive material sandblasted my freshly painted recycled doormat.

 

We quickly moved it to the backdoor, off the patio, where it'll be more protected. 

And now after 2-3 weeks, it's still relatively bright and beautiful, 
AND IT IS holding its colors. 

My doormat

is now a "WELCOME" mat once again.

And I was reminded of important truths.

NOT everything you read on the internet

is true or accurate - check the facts.

NOT all internet projects are tried and true nor do they update or repost the unexpected - IT's ALL trial and error.

Try and test everything

 but find JOY in the process. 

I did!!

~ Julie ~

Where did it begin?

THIS BLOG that is...

... it began Saturday, March 23, 2024.

I was studying and looking up some information on my phone and fell into the Blogger (a blog platform website). My phone has a Google account which when I logged in, it somehow took me to a post with my Google address and login information. I'm not tech savvy but I do understand that it is all somehow linked. And I fell into what appeared to be MY personal work.

At first, I thought, I must have somehow inadvertently logged into an old blog account which I used to post too called the "Sassy Chatter" - but how?

How could MY Google account get me there?

I was confused and dumbfounded.

You see, back in 2014, I worked at Sassy Scrapper scrapbook store in Murfreesboro, T.N. My coworkers and I blogged for the "Sassy Chatter". It was one way to keep the customers informed and to post thoughts, ideas, class supply lists, and the monthly scrapbook pages or projects. Though the store is now closed you can still see the posts we made there (see my link under "Blogs I Follow").

On Saturday, March 23, 2024 -

How could I be on that old blog?   HOW?

I followed the breadcrumbs like Hansell and Grettel.

But rather than arriving at a candy covered house with a notorious owner, I discovered something which I had long forgotten - a blog, MY blog "Jul's Creative Corner".

Originally, this blog was established in 2012 while working at Sassy Scrapper. It was to be my personal way of communicating with my customers and to share with them my latest projects outside of Sassy Scrapper. Even though I designed it in 2012, I never posted anything to it because I ended up using Sassy Chatter instead.

Then in May of 2015, I resigned my position at the store and left full-time employment to return home to be a full-time homeschool momma. I wanted to keep the blog so I could keep in touch with my clients, customers, and friends but it never really materialized. I became more involved with homeschooling than I expected. And over the next 8 years, schooling became our whole life. I don't regret a single moment because it gave me some of the most beautiful memorable time with my son. He is now grown and in trade school, quickly approaching the end of his last semester and will soon head in the direction of his talent and trade.

But on that March morning, looking back at that unpublished post from 2014, it seemed like a lifetime ago. I wondered out loud if it was by accident or by divine appointment. That is when my sweet husband, said, "You KNOW it's not by chance - maybe THIS IS your outlet." 

In the last 2 years there have been so many changes in our life. The unexpected and the unknown have become our constant companions and maybe, just maybe, this was more than "just a coincidence". There are no accidents in this life, I know that. For those things that seem unexpected or unexplained, MUST always come first through the hand of God. So yes, they have a divine origin.

So too with this blog, I believe IT IS NOT accidental, coincidental, happenstance or chance. Through all the many twists and turns of my journey, life has led me to - TODAY. HE has ordered every single step. And maybe it has all come full circle and this IS my time to write, to share, and to encourage from my creative corner.

When GOD leads the footsteps -

the creative corner becomes -

THE OUTLET.

Proverbs 16:9 (Amplified Version)
A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], But the LORD directs his steps and establishes them.

~ Julie ~