Geek Chic: Binary Doormat Knock-off

Wowsers! I have been so excited to share my knock-off binary doormat with you! About a month ago, Digital Man gently pointed out that we really needed a new doormat for our front door. Our old doormat was torn, dirty, and generally gross.  So the search for a new doormat began. 

It might seem silly to be picky about a doormat, but your front door is a major part of the curb appeal that gives visitors a first impression of your home and family. One of the biggest problems that I had is that most of the doormats that I really liked were $40+. That is way more than I want to spend on something that gets dirty shoes wiped all over it. I'm cheap that way, but let's call it frugality.

I really liked the look of coir mats, but I was looking for something kind of fun and unique. Ultimately I whipped up this awesome Binary Doormat! It is a Geek Chic nod to Digital Man's career. It says "Welcome" in binary.

I was inspired by this doormat that you can purchase from ThinkGeek for $39.99. That is unless you want to DIY like me.

To make my Binary Doormat, I purchased the Double-Border Panama Weave Doormat at Walmart (Shhh! It's only $6.97, don't tell my secret ;0) 

 I used Cloister Black font found at Dafont.com to form my binary code, cause it's more of my Analog style. Then I used a light table to trace the image onto Freezer Paper. Yes, that's right Freezer Paper. You should be able to buy it on the same aisle as the plastic wrap and aluminum foil in your local grocery or big box store.

Using a pen knife, I followed the lines I had traced onto freezer paper to cut out the stencil, making sure to keep the centers for the 0's. I taped the freezer paper stencil onto the doormat to hold it in place so I could iron the stencil on. First I ironed on the main stencil, then I ironed on the centers of each 0.

My original plan was to paint the mat blue, but the color I used was too light for my tastes. I ended up whipping out the black spray paint to get the job done. I didn't paint the mat immediately after ironing it. In fact, I painted several days later (don't judge me). Thus, I experienced some seepage due to a weaker seal. Next time I use a freezer paper stencil I'm going to remember to paint right after ironing. When I pulled off the freezer paper I had this awesome doormat! It has already been quite the conversation starter!

You can even create different messages in binary using a binary to text (ASCII) converter.

 Linking up to:

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