DIY Patterned Mats

Geometric Mat

For this first mat, I’m drawing a triangle pattern. Match up the edge of a ruler with the top left corner of the mat. Angle the ruler so that the edge intersects the inner corner of the mat, creating a 45 degree angle. Lightly draw along each side of the ruler.

Use those lines as a guide to continue drawing evenly spaced lines.

Now we’ll do the same thing from the opposite corner, forming a series of diamonds.

Finally, intersect the center of the diamonds with straight horizontal lines, forming triangles.

I’ll be using a metallic gold Pentouch paint marker, as well as black one. Shake the pen, then release the pressure by depressing the nib while the marker is pointed up. To get the ink flowing, depress the nib on a piece of scratch paper.

Trace random triangles and color them in with the gold Pentouch. This ink covers smoothly and consistently like paint, but won’t drip like paint. It also dries much more quickly than paint.

Now fill in other triangles with the black Pentouch. You can also gild the interior beveled edge of the mat using the gold Pentouch.

Erase any pencil marks left in the white triangles.

You could frame this mat, but I think it also looks great unframed. If you choose to just hang the mat, you can protect the photo or artwork using a clear, acid-free plastic film, such as Dura-Lar. I like to adhere this with washi tape, since it’s easy to remove without damaging the mat or the artwork. Prop the mat up on a mantle, or hang using Scotch removable mounting tabs.

Kitty Cat Mat

For this next project, I’m going to make a kitty cat mat to frame a picture of our kitten. I’m going to use a black Pentouch, and a green one for the eyes. It’s easy to draw a kitty head; draw a U and fill the bottom half in. Then draw lines at a downward diagonal from the endpoints of the U, making two triangle ears. Add a couple of whiskers on each side of the kitty’s face.

I’m also filling in the empty space with a background of X’s, but polka dots or hearts would be cute too.

Add two green dots on each head to make eyes. Unlike regular markers, the green Pentouch paint marker shows up beautifully when layered over black. I’m coloring the interior beveled edge to make it pop.

This is the perfect way to showcase my cute kitten photo. Of course, there are endless opportunities for decorating and personalizing mats to fit your decor.