My dogs have destroyed the blinds on our front door. They also have a knack for pulling curtains down, so I had to come up with something durable. I came across some old quarter inch thick plexiglass for really cheap, which led to this idea. As an added bonus I also increased the security of my front door, since quarter inch plex is pretty hard to break.

Step 1: What You Need:

-Circular saw with plywood cutting blade
-Cutting Guide (for straight cuts)
-2 spring clamps (A-clamps)
-Angle grinder, or sander
-Corse grit sanding disk (angle grinder) or Corse grit sandpaper
(corse grit doesn't clog as easy)
-Plexiglass: 1/4 for security, or 1/8 inch for decoration
-Artist acrylic
-Paint brush
-something to support your plex while cutting
-a tape measure
-a drill
-screws and washers
-A door or window

Step 2: Measure and Cut

Measure your door or window and plan out the entire area you want to cover with plexiglass. Measure and mark your cuts on the plexiglass.

Get your cutting area ready. Be sure that you have a way to support the plex on both sides. Not properly supporting the plex on both side can cause it to snap a crooked cut before your finished sawing it.

Get your saw ready. Try to set up your blade so that as little of the blade as needed sticks through the base. This will insure that your blade isn't putting too much up pressure on the plex while cutting, which could cause it to chip or split.

Position your guide using the aiming notch on your saw, or laser if your saw's fancy. Make sure your cutting guide is squared up by measuring the distance from one side of the plex and the guide and making sure the distance stays the same all the way through the cut. When your guides in place clamp it down and cut.

Step 3: Scar and Stain

Once you have all of your plex cut hold it up to the area you plan on covering and double check that all has gone as planned.

Now you're ready to abuse your plex with power tools. Get your sanding devise of choice and go to town on your plex. You can try to keep a uniform pattern, or just go crazy with.

Once your done abusing your plex you can stop there or choose to stain the plex.

If you choose to stain it, pick a color and put some in a cup, jar, or CDR spindle (whatever you choose) and delute it to a consistency slightly thicker than whole milk.

Now just slather it on the rough side of your plex with a paint brush.

After about 5 minutes whip off the stain with paper towels or old rags, then leave it to dry about 10 minutes longer.

Now rinse off any excess stain.

Step 4: Mounting

Now you're ready to mount your plex.

Hold the plex up where you plan on putting it and mark where you want to put the mounting holes. Now lay the plex back on your plex cutting support system and drill your holes.

If you're mounting the plex to a wood frame then get you're wood screws ready, put a washer on one and start mounting the plex. I recommend mounting it shiny side out. Be careful not to over tighten as this will cause the plex to break.

Congrats. Your done, enjoy.