Tutorials

Christmas decorating is in full force at my house and while it’s easy to decorate the inside of the house, I knew I need to add some holiday flair outside. The front door is a great opportunity and space to welcome guests into our home so I made a customized holiday door mat to wish them a Merry Christmas!

The core doormat comes blank and was purchased from Target. To create the buffalo plaid pattern, I used painter’s tape to section off 2” strips horizontally and vertically. Next, I cut out a large round circle and secured it to the middle of the doormat with pins.

The stripe painting process took a while because the horizonal stripes had to dry before I could tape down and paint the vertical stripes. It’s important to use outdoor acrylic paint versus regular acrylic paint as it is waterproof and to remove the painter’s tape while the paint is drying. Also, I highly recommend using a round bristle paint brush and painting in an up and down dabbing motion so that the paint goes straight down into the mat versus side to side that could lead to bleeding under the painter’s tape.

Next, I used my Silhouette Cameo and my 12in x 24in cutting mat to cut out the “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” design using freezer paper. Securing the cut out to the doormat was the longest part of this project since there are tons of flourishes and inner loose pieces. Patience is key here! I again used the pins to help lay out the design and once I liked how it looked, I gently ironed the design onto the doormat. The shiny side of the freezer paper adheres to the doormat when ironed.

The last step was to use red acrylic paint and a smaller round bristle paint brush for the stencil. After a couple coats, I peeled off the freezer paper stencil and my festive door mat was done!

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Find the file for this in Carina’s shop here: We Wish You a Merry Christmas – Link: https://www.silhouettedesignstore.com/view-shape/229816

Hello from Southern California! I’m Christine, the gal behind Studio Xtine, where I share fun project tutorials, free printables, and a tiny glimpse of my favorite things like donuts, tacos, and more donuts. Ingrained in me is a deep desire and joy to create, which is why I love my Silhouette machines! When I’m not crafting, you can find me, my hubby, and my two munchkins hiking, devouring poke bowls, and strapping on a GoPro for our adventures.

Blog – http://studioxtine.com/
Instagram – www.instagram.com/studio_xtine/
Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/queenstine/

It’s that time of year again when I prepare sending Christmas photo cards to loved ones. This year, I have created a custom Christmas-themed address stamp with my Silhouette Mint custom stamp maker. The Silhouette Mint offers a variety of sizes and I find the 45mm x 45mm stamp size is the perfect size for round-shaped address stamps.

For my stamp, I used the letter “H” dingbat from Carina Gardner’s CG Christmas Quotes Dingbats collection and made it the focal piece. Next, I added my family name and address and nestled them within two concentric circles. I was able to create this design pretty easily all within the Mint Studio software. Many of the functions in Mint Studio is similar to Silhouette Studio’s such as making text curve.

The one thing to note is that a Mint stamp is different from standard rubber stamps. Mint stamps use special ink that is absorbed into the stamp material. After applying ink onto the stamp, let it sit for about 10 minutes. On scratch paper, stamp out excess ink until your stamp design becomes clear and clean.

You could even take this project up a notch by using different Mint inks. For example, I could use green ink for the Merry Christmas design in the middle and use black ink for the rest of the design. Again, there are a lot of possibilities for this project! Do you have the Silhouette Mint custom stamp maker? What do you make with it?

You can find the artwork in Carina’s shop here: CG Christmas Quotes Dingbats – Link: https://www.silhouettedesignstore.com/view-shape/229744

Hello from Southern California! I’m Christine, the gal behind Studio Xtine, where I share fun project tutorials, free printables, and a tiny glimpse of my favorite things like donuts, tacos, and more donuts. Ingrained in me is a deep desire and joy to create, which is why I love my Silhouette machines! When I’m not crafting, you can find me, my hubby, and my two munchkins hiking, devouring poke bowls, and strapping on a GoPro for our adventures.

Blog – http://studioxtine.com/
Instagram – www.instagram.com/studio_xtine/
Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/queenstine/