DIY Map Art

Are you looking for an activity that channels your creative side and gets the kids involved? Here’s a fun craft that even exhibits some local pride. With this being my first post here on the Knoxville Moms Blog, I wanted to share one of my favorite things–a fun craft project. Here’s how to make your own piece of map art…

Supplies:

• watercolor paints
• watercolor brushes
• watercolor paper
• water
• old maps (I got mine from this shop on Etsy.)
• ruler
• pencil
• picture frames
• circle paper punch
• state stencil (You can make your own by printing off a picture of Tennessee from the internet.)
• heart stencil
• glue

Steps:

1. Gather all of your materials. Cut pieces of watercolor paper that are the correct size for your picture frames.

2. Prepare to paint. Set out your paper, paint, brushes, water, and a few paper towels.

3. Here’s where the kids can have some fun. Let them paint the background for your map art or even begin to create their own piece of art. All that is required in this step is to splash a little paint on the paper.

4. Allow your watercolor backgrounds to dry completely.

5. You can use a ruler and pencil to plan and mark out where you want to place your map pieces. I wanted the circles I glued onto one canvas to be evenly spaced, so the ruler came in handy for measuring placement.

6. Use a circle punch (or other paper punch) to punch out different shapes from an old map. You can even print out a picture of Tennessee and use it as a guide to cut out our state. I cut out a small heart from a pink portion of the map to glue where Knoxville is located.

7. Glue your map pieces onto your painted backgrounds.

8. Place your finished map art into frames.

Now you have some unique pieces that are perfect as decor in your own home or as a gift for someone else.

Happy crafting!