Mapping it All Out

I have so much to share and yet I haven't been getting it up here on my blog.  I've been so busy taking care of business that the projects are piling up in my craft space.  I finally finished that big home decor project I had mentioned.  It's a map of the United States made with my Silhouette Cameo, patterned paper that I already had in my office, and some wood slats leftover from an old bed frame we no longer have in our house.  Wanna see???

 

Supplies used: Ink - ColorBox Chalk Ink (Charcoal); Patterned paper - Chatter Box, Crate Paper, Echo Park Paper Co., Graphic 45, My Minds Eye, October Afternoon and Simple Stories

The entire map was a Silhouette download that they offered as a weekly freebie quite some time ago.  I enlarged the map to fit the black foam core board I planned to use and then ungrouped the entire map.  I die cut each state and then inked around the edges using ColorBox Chalk Ink and a paint brush to get into all the little detail areas.  I wanted to ink up the edges so it would not only help to define the shape of each state but it would help each map piece blend into the black background where pieces didn't come together exactly.  Once the pieces were ready, I assembled the map using Mod Podge.  I finished the map off by adding a few coats of Mod Podge over the entire foam core board to protect it all.

For the base, my wonderful husband trimmed each plank to the size I needed and then secured them all together.  I stained the entire thing with a dark walnut stain that I roughed up a bit with sand paper once it was all dry.  I attached the foam core board to the wood planks using Beacon's Hold the Foam Glue for Styrofoam and my hubby hung it up.  I love how it turned out.  The finished size is roughly 35" x 25" including the plank base.  The colors match the colors in our family room perfectly and now that empty alcove above the fireplace has something to fill it in!