“Beware of the Porg” Welcome Mat

Celebrate May the Fourth by adding a little Star Wars style to your front door! Because let’s be honest, guests need to be warned about the porgs…

DIY Star Wars Welcome Mat: Beware of the Porg

What You Need:

• Plain coir rug
• Outdoor acrylic black paint
• Foam paint brush
• Two pieces of 12×12 cardstock paper
• Straight pins
• Masking tape
• Cricut Explore Air II and cutting accessories (mat, weeder)
• Porg DOWNLOAD
• Beware of the Porg DOWNLOAD

First thing first, let’s talk rugs. I buy all of my plain rugs from IKEA. They are WAY more affordable than if you buy them off of Amazon or even from craft stores. IKEA sells their plain coir rugs in two sizes. To fit my porch, I chose the smaller size which is roughly 23.5 inches wide by 15.5 inches tall.

To start, download the two files found in the list above and cut them out using your Cricut Explore Air II (or by hand). I sized my porg at 10 inches wide and the ‘Beware of the Porg’ phrase at 11.5 inches wide.

To get an idea of spacing for your mat, weed the letters and the black portion of the porg (reference the file shown in your download) off of your cutting mat and place them on your rug.

After confirming the spacing you’re after, lay out the remaining pieces of your cutout and use them as stencil pieces on your coir mat, securing them with masking tape.

Next, add the smaller cutout pieces from within the letters and secure them in place with straight pins.

Once you’re ready to paint, pour your outdoor acrylic paint into a painting dish and get your sponge paint brush ready. For the next step, you may want to wear gloves, as it is helpful to hold down the pieces of paper while you are painting to keep them in place.

Now it’s time to begin painting. Dip your sponge paint brush in the paint (you’ll want to have a good coating of paint on your sponge) and dab the sponge on the area you are trying to cover. Be careful to only dab up and down so that you do not accidentally move or paint under the pieces of your stencil. Take your time painting and, if needed, add a second coat of paint to get your desired color on your mat.

NOTE — Let me add that for each painted rug I’ve made, I’ve always feared that I might have to scrap the entire project and start over. My smaller pieces would shift while I was painting, the paint wasn’t as thick as I wanted, and I could not imagine it coming out legible at all. However, each time it has worked out! Moral of the story, if you feel like you’re doing a bad job, finish the project and then decide at the end if it turned out or not.

Okay, now back to the instructions!

After painting over your entire stencil, let your mat dry. Once the paint is no longer wet (or earlier if you’re impatient like I am), slowly and carefully lift off your stencils.

If needed, feel free to go back and clean up any edges or light spots with extra paint.

Looking for more DIY welcome mat ideas? Check out my ‘Chewie, We’re Home’ and ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park’ door mats.