Map Project!

I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the MAAAAAPPP!

Way too much DORA over here people.  YOWSA!

Since Hubby is all over the continental US and I'm not smarter than a 5th grader I thought a map to track his journeys would be fun!  My mom bought us a big map for Christmas last year.  I had it hung in our bedroom for a while but wanted it somewhere more public.  So when Glidden had their Paint Giveaway I knew just what I was going to do with my free quart of cinnamon spice!

I masked out a big stinkin' rectangle in  my entry way and painted my base coat over the interior edge

(so that if anything were to seep under my tape it would be the same color of the wall)

I let it dry for a couple of days (not usually my style but with two small children I work around their schedule)  Then I painted my square - I was shocked it only needed one coat - red needs like 4 coats to cover... so I really love this color!

Sorry for the blurry picture but you can kinda see how textured my walls are and how even my painted edge turned out - that technique ROCKS I have since used it doing 5 other painted accents around my house.

It is impossible to get a straight on picture of this project since it is in an entry way, but you get the idea! I had bought some thin molding to surround the whole thing, but I didn't know that trick was going to work THAT good, and now I want to show off it's perfectness (I'm nuts-o that way)

I had my map prepped days before I painted the wall (out of excitement waiting for my paint to be delivered)  I wanted to back it with cork board, but a piece as big and as thick as I wanted was reaching triple digits (um..NO!) so I found cork tiles and puzzled them together two tiles thick so that none of the seams lined up - used my elmers spray adhesive on the whole thing and slapped my map down!

I made sure it was nice and smooth (which it was) but a couple of days of laying around with a toddler it bubbled a little bit - but I think I can cope...

I trimmed the edges with white ribbon so the cut, crumbly cork edges wouldn't show and I nailed it centered in my painted rectangle.

I had used little adhesive squares - which hubby said wasn't going to hold - but I wanted to SHOW HIM!   

It fell down during the night while he was away and scared me nearly to death so I nailed the sucker up and never told him, HA!

Now I can track hubby's comings and goings

from coast

to coast

My project has now become his project because he has added the ribbon and probably a hundred pins marking his deliveries and most traveled roads...

Fine with me! Just as long as all roads lead home.

A gifted map, free promo paint, left over ribbon, extra sewing pins and cheap cork tiles!

An entire entry wall that people can't keep their eyes off - PRICELESS!

(and the couple hundred dollars of savings by doing it thriftily means hubby can spend a weekend home)