Another favorite store of mine is Hollander’s in Ann Arbor. This store has a fantastic selection of paper at very reasonable prices. I’ve used a lot of their paper in my Etsy store and have had really good results.
A while ago, I made this chalkboard out of a repurposed cabinet door and green chalkboard paint. To be honest, I liked the results so much, I decided to keep it.
I used vintage inspired paper, a repurposed cabinet door and green chalkboard paint to make this chalkboard
I’ve noticed all the big home decor catalogs have been featuring map art, gorgeous but really expensive.
This is from Pinterest, the original link is missing, I'm thinking it's from Pottery Barn or Ballards
I checked Hollander’s and sure enough they have some really cool map paper so, I picked up a “paper” map of Italy for $4, bought a piece of mdf @ Home Depot (under $5) and cut it to size. (If you don’t have the tools to cut it at home, they will do it for free at the store) I painted around the edge with an antique white acrylic paint.
I only painted the edge antique white because, that is all that will show when I'm done.
After the paint dried, I antiqued it with an antiquing medium
This is the antiquing medium I use, it's so old I'm not sure they even sell it any more however, you can use stain or brown paint and I've even read you can use shoe polish (I'd test first)
I used Mod Podge to “glue” the map to the board and then again to create a smooth matte finish on top of the map
Don't panic if it starts to look like this during the drying process.
It's a lot like wallpaper, it will dry flat.
I’m a bit of a perfectionist and well, this isn’t perfect. If you look in the top right corner, there are a few creases that I’m not happy with. I’m going to do a trio of these, much like the pinterest post, so I’ll be trying a few different methods to minimize this problem. Here are a few of my ideas on eliminating the creases:
1) I’m going to add water to the Mod Podge to see if it will slow down the dry time
2) I’m going to do the map in two parts, top then bottom
3) Surf the internet for tips, always a good idea 
If you’ve got any fail safe methods, please leave a comment.
I’m linking up to
Centsational Girl – Spring Craft
Great idea! I’m thinking of redoing my boys’ room with maps so I’ll keep this in mind!
I love map art! This looks great!
This is such a great project! I love it’s simplicity. In fact, it’s downright cinchy … and would be perfect at our “It’s a Cinch” multi-blog link party. The link stays open until midnight Friday and when you link at one blog, you’re automatically linked up to the party’s five co-hosts …
http://www.itallstartedwithpaint.com/2012/03/its-cinch-link-party.html
Hope to see you at the party!
Linda
http://www.itallstartedwithpaint.com
I am a huge fan of maps and was thinking of putting some up in my office but I wasn’t sure how to. I like the MDF board idea. That way they can move around and look great too.
Love this project! That map is amazing …
Thanks so much for linking it up at our “It’s a Cinch” party!
Linda
http://www.itallstartedwithpaint.com
Love chalkboards and maps – the two together – perfections!!
No wonder you’re keeping it!
So glad you joined our Cinch party
Kelly
What a great idea for an old map! I have the perfect spot on my wall for this
Thanks for the inspiration and thanks for linking up to our party!
blessings,
karianne
Such a great project, I totally agree, green is the new black.
Thanks so much for sharing this at our party.
Karah
Thanks, I love the parties, so many great ideas!
I say go for the aged look, that way it erases any creases. Just crumble the map a lot to get it all nice and aged looking, then finish it the way you want.
Great idea, why didn’t I think of that….that’s how I always tell my kids to do their “map” homework
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