Make Large Canvas Wall Art Out of An Old Map


One of my favorite things about thrift store decorating is finding something unexpected and giving it a new life. When I came across an old vintage map, I immediately saw the potential for unique wall art. Instead of leaving it tucked away, I cut it into sections and mounted it onto canvases to create a custom piece full of character and history. If you love decorating with vintage finds and creating budget-friendly home decor, this simple DIY project might inspire your next thrift store makeover.




I had previously picked up an old slightly laminated MAP from the same thrift store for a few dollars. I began to wonder what I could do with my map???? Tick tock, tick tock, my creative juices were coming…….


Ah Ha!  My son needed something on his wall in his room and since that is where I put the globe how about matching wall art! 

I went to Michaels and picked up a bunch of canvases at 40% off.  I traced around the canvas and cut out each rectangle.  The overall map size was 31”x 50”.  The smaller canvases I bought were 8x10 and the larger were 16x20. You can click the links to take you to my affiliate Amazon where you can purchase similar maps/canvases yourself. :-)

                                                     World Wall Maps!



        

Next I spray painted the edges with a left over blue I had from this wine glass project. I am a sucker for anything AGED looking so I spray painted some brown to the edges too.

 



Once dry, I brushed on some glue and attached my cut out map pieces.


Once that dried (I turned them over to add some weight to the drying process) I wanted to age the edges just a little more so I took out my inking pad, or chalk pad, and “aged” the edges. If you were really brave you could lightly sprayed some gold or brown spray paint on the corners to age it. I also put a little brown glaze on the map itself to try to give it some more character. I can’t decide if it was worth that extra step or not?? 
Anyway, once dry I came back and put Mod Podge over the top in criss cross strokes. If your map does not have a coating on it (some form of lamination) be VERY careful with applying the glue, a lot of people are saying their map is ripping.  My suggestion would be to find a map with some sort of a coating on it. (not just thin paper)

                                        
VOILA!!! Really, that wasn’t too hard. Now I have a BIG piece of wall art for not a lot of money!


Shop This DIY Map Canvas Look

Love this vintage-inspired map wall art? Here are the supplies I used to create a similar look:

Supplies

✓ Vintage World Map

✓ Stretched Canvas Panels

✓ Matte Mod Podge kit

✓ Craft Knife 

Metal Ruler

For the Aged, Vintage Finish

✓ Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)

✓ Any color spray paint

✓ Metallic Gold Spray Paint

✓ Clear Matte Sealer

Optional Upgrades

✓ Gallery-Wrapped Canvases

✓ Self-Healing Cutting Mat

✓ Picture Hanging Kit


These simple supplies make it easy to recreate this oversized vintage map canvas wall art for your own home. 


 


Stay creative with me folks – even if you didn’t find a map at a thrift store you could take this same technique and make large canvas art with any type poster. 




Keep those Creative Juices Flowing!!!

I was so excited to see receive an email of one of my readers showing me the map she did using my tutorial! Isn't it great!!  Here's Nicholle’s map. I love the different colors.  


Another reader did her nursery in an "It's a small world" theme!





If you want to see more fun ideas, check out this Pottery Barn Knockoff clock that I did using a round board I found at the thrift store!!



As always you can read my full disclosure/affiliate link policy here.

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