My DIY projects!

I spent the better part of last week playing around on Pinterest. I am so glad it took me this long to get on that site. It isn't that I get sucked into the site per say  It is that I find something I like and then link over to a blog and then I spend forever at said blog. And then I do it again for another blog.....In the end I have a lot of time suckage going on. And what are all those pins really for on Pinterest unless you actually do them. So this weekend I set out to do a small project, where if I made of mess of things well...it wouldn't really matter.

Mary's first Do It Yourself  -- a doormat and a decorative door hanging.

I started with 1x2 that were 8 feet long. I wanted a 3x2 foot doormat horizontal so I had to have 8 pieces.

I might have missed the mark a couple of times...but hey, this is my first time using a saw.....that plugs in! 

Olivia snapping a few picture of me while I work. Don't you love the big recycle bin and jar of paint holding my wood in place. We might have to build some saw horses next. :)  

All the pieces are cut 

Drilling some holes.I had to do it again after it was all painted...note to self, just wait until after you paint to do this next time.  

Olivia so wanted to take a picture of my booty butt as I was getting ready to paint 

As I painted, Andrew thought he needed to get rid of some paperwork but he didn't want to rip off all the important information --- so he burned it in my pot. It is still sitting outside because it smells. :)  

This is what the kids did while we worked....Poor William the first signs he isn't feeling well.  

Andrew helping me straighten out my edge. I have never been accused of being exact. :)  

The kids really wanted to help paint - so we took a break after Olivia's concert and they painted their first initial letter to hang in their lockers.  

And the now painted mat. I took the dark paint and added a spoonful of white for each additional board. Then I used the original color to paint the numbers. I made home made stencils on the computer. It worked...but not great.  

The doormat all tied together with twine and with my last initial door decorator.  

Close up of the letter. I just took an unfinished letter T and wrapped it in burlap and hung it with a ribbon that matched the doormat. I can't wait to paint the door black. I think it will all really look nice then.  

Because I wanted the mat horizontal I had extra scrap pieces. So, I purchased one extra 1x2 so we could make an additional smaller mat for the kids. William wanted it orange and Olivia wanted it to say Heaven. I made the letters too big. But cutting your own stencils is hard and the bigger they were the easier it was for me. It works. 

All in all - I think it was a success. I did coat the blue mat in poly - and will the orange one when I get a chance to get it outside. It is raining today...well last night. I must run, baby is up from his nap. DIY post done. :)