Travel Map

I spent hours toiling over my blog... the name, the colors... I'm a bit of a perfectionist, unfortunately. So after I got all of the logistics worked out (thanks in part to my AMAZING best friends), I was so excited to get started posting! It was then that I realized that I had poorly documented my first two projects. I'm used to just jumping into a project right away (usually without a fully thought out game plan). I was so caught up that I forgot to take pictures as I was going! I feel like this is a serious DIY blog faux pas, & I am going to correct that for every other project... or at least try. That being said... I'm so excited to share what I've been working on!


Me & the hubs, also known as Micah, decided that we needed a way to document all of the places we have visited & hope to in the future. Micah is in the Army, so inevitably we are going to be traveling around a bit in the next few years. Aside from that, we both love to travel. Granted, his idea of a ideal vacation is shooting caribou out in Alaska, while mine is meandering through the Italian countryside. Yet, we still manage to compromise on most trips (We got to honeymoon in the Historic district of Charleston, SC!). 


Since a map of the entire world is a little too big & generic (some of the places we've visited aren't exactly major metropolitan areas), I decided on finding a map of the good ole U.S. of A. I was able to find a poster sized one at my local Michael's for around $8. Micah decided he wanted to help, & picked out a generic framed cork board from Walmart that was $10ish - He's ALL about the budget. We were able to find a board that was almost the exact size we needed to fit our map poster. The last 3 things we got were Elmer's spray adhesive (also from Walmart) & two packs of quilting needles, each in different colors. JoAnn's had a better selection of these. They were a little pricey - $5 for the small box & $9 for the big one, but I figured I could also used them for sewing. All together, the supplies for this project totaled around $35... not too shabby!

We sprayed the adhesive in small sections on the cork board, starting in one of the corners & lined it up along the interior of the frame. We had to spray A LOT, so make sure you do this either outside or in a well ventilated area. Don't be dummies like us & forget to open a window in your apartment until AFTER your living room is filled with fumes...just saying. It is also helpful to use a credit card or something similar to smooth the map down with. It helps cut out on wrinkles. We continued working our way across the cork board in small areas until the whole map was unrolled & (kinda) glued down. There was a little excess along the bottom, so I took a sharp knife (an exacto one would probably work better) & trimmed the paper off so that it matched up with the edge of the frame. Use the credit card to push any paper edged under the frame if need be. 


Let it dry & you'll end up with something like this!

Then, we started sticking the pins in. One color for places we've been & and another for places we want to go. Just be careful to not stick them all the way through the back of the board since they are really long. 

It is kind of bumpy looking because I don't think the glue was thick enough for the poster-y finish of the map. If I was going to do it again, I think I would try good old fashioned Mod Podge. But, if you do go that route you might want to test a small area instead of jumping straight in like I did. 


Originally, I was planning on something a bit fancier, but Micah wanted this to be something fun & personal, not a work of art (That's how he put it.). Still, I would like to try to find a cheap, more interesting frame to paint & put over the standard blah one. If I do I will let y'all know! Also, please let me know what you think!!