DIY Travel Map Chalkboard

Disclosure  ||  I received product compensation for this post from Coupons.com.  All opinions and ideas are my own. 

Today I’ve teamed up with 8 other fabulous bloggers to bring you a “Travel” themed blog hop and an awesome giveaway for a $200 Home Depot Giftcard!  

When I was first approached about doing a travel themed project I knew right away what I would make.  I love that chalkboards are such a huge trend right now, and I thought a DIY Travel Map Chalkboard would be a fun idea.  I wanted something that would encourage our family to be a little more adventurous in our travels, and it would help us remember the special places we’ve been together. Granted we haven’t been to many new places on our family vacations over the past ten years, but I’d really love to change that.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own DIY Travel Map Chalkboard.  You can find most of these items at your local Home Depot.

Supplies:

–  1′ x 2′ Piece of galvanized sheet metal (use thin smooth MDF if you want it to not be magnetized)
–  3″ Flat corner braces {comes in a 4 pack}
–  1″ x 3″ Pine furring strip {you will need 2 – 24″ pieces, & 2 – 11″ pieces cut for your frame}
–  Krylon chalkboard spray paint
–  Americana gel stain {walnut color}
–  Foam brush
–  Chalk marker
–  Magnet strips
–  Washi tape

I found the piece of sheet metal on an end cap in Home Depot, it’s where they sell all the fancy radiator cover metal.  I measure and cut the wood to create a simple frame, nothing fancy…no mitered corners…just simple.  I wanted my chalkboard to have a rustic look. Be sure to sand your edges so you don’t have any splintering.

I have to tell you how much I loved using this gel stain from DecoArt.  So easy to use and almost no mess at all.  It was perfect for this project.  I simply just used a foam brush to apply the gel stain one piece of wood at a time, and using a paper towel just wiping off the excess. It dries really quickly.

 

Next step was to make the flat corner braces I bought not look so “new”.  When they are new they are bright shiny silver, this picture is after we antiqued them. My hubby used a blow torch to burn them a bit.  It turned them all a dull gray silver, it was perfect.

Next thing I did was to spray my sheet metal with my chalkboard spray paint.  Give it a really good coat, be sure to spray evenly and let it dry completely.I then built the frame.  I first attached the corner braces to the front of the frame, I did this on all four corners until my frame was done.Then we flipped the frame over and took the chalkboard sheet metal and used a small drill bit to drill pilot holes for the screws.  We attached the chalkboard. That was it.  Pretty easy.

I wanted to create some type of marker for our trips and where we’ve traveled so I chose to use magnets.  I simply cut them into small pieces and applied some washi tape to the magnets.  We can make as many of these as we need and they look cute.To create the map on the chalkboard I found an old dry erase place mat my son has had for years of the United States.  I grabbed my scissors and cut it out. Used it as my stencil and traced it.  Then to get all my state borders I cut out each state and traced those.  I used a chalkboard marker for everything so I had a nice clean line.  You can also print a silhouette of the United States out on cardstock and use that.

What do you think?  I love it.  I can’t wait to add a new marker to the map with a new adventure!

Be sure to visit my other blogging buddies and check out their projects too.

Gallamore West
Four Marrs One Venus
Make Life Lovely
Artsy Fartsy Mama
Young and Crafty
Nellie Bellie
A Turtles Life for Me
Tattered and Inked

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