I have an affliction known as "the creative itch". My dear mother identified this ailment when I was quite young, after I spent an entire summer boiling eggs, painting faces on them and playing with my "egg people" instead of my dolls. Fortunately for me, she indulged my "itch" - even allowing me to lock myself away for weeks at a time on scrapbooking binges. Today, if I don't frequently participate in some sort of crafting experience I go a bit nuts and feel like pieces of my soul are being pulverized.
Of course, I realize my need for a good ol' fashioned craft project every now and then is unusual and that crafting can be incredibly intimidating for people. Typically I hear the following concerns and complaints: "I wish I could but I just don't have the time" or "I'm not artistic enough for that". Certainly some projects require greater artistic ability or are more time consuming than others, but the project I have for you today takes ten minutes and literally requires the skills of a third grader.
But first, we have to begin at, well... the beginning. About a year ago I found an awesome old frame at the Rose Bowl swap meet. I purchased the vintage frame for less than 20 bucks and figured I'd find a cool piece of art and get glass cut. I regularly stroll through home stores just to gather ideas (good designers don't copy, they steal) and after touring the fabulous, yet out-of-my-price-range furniture store, H.D. Buttercup, I realized the perfect thing to put in my frame was a vintage map. Old maps add quirky design to a room and are great conversation starters.
This vintage map, hung in pieces on a bright wall, makes for a homey modern feel.
Cozy and eclectic. This room screams well traveled and well read.
After measuring my frame, I scanned EBay and found an antique map of Germany taken from an old atlas for $18. I studied abroad in Germany for five months and I liked the idea of having art that reminded me of my travels. In a few short days I had my map, I already had my frame without glass, and I was ready to make some original art. But how to mat it? And what about the glass?
I remembered that in the third grade we made fake leather from brown paper bags and I thought the trick would make for an interesting mat to my map art. I cut two paper bags so that they laid like rectangles and then I began crinkling them. I balled up the paper bags and crunched them in my hands. Then I opened the bags up and lightly ironed them as to keep the ridges. I liked the look then but decided to add a bit of paint across the top of the ridges as an extra detail. After the paint dried I taped the map in the center of the brown paper bag and taped the whole thing into the frame.
At a garage sale that same weekend I found a poster frame the exact size as my artwork. I popped out the plastic sheet and glued it to the inside of my frame. I knew no one would notice it wasn't glass since I planned on hanging it well out of anyone's reach.
The result was a unique framed map art all for about $40 that took less than 10 minutes to construct.
How to Construct Your Own Map Art:
First, find your frame. I hung mine up empty until I realized what I wanted to put inside of it.
I ordered my map on EBay and was ready to make my custom "mat".
To make your mat get a brown paper bag without handles and cut down one edge towards the bag's bottom.
Then begin cutting out the bottom of the grocery bag.
Once the bottom is cut out, crunch the bag into a ball and crinkle away...
After the bag is properly wrinkled, lay flat and lightly iron, but keep the ridges!
At this point I lightly brushed paint across the ridges of the bag to create a accent.
I glued a plastic sheet into the frame and taped my paper bag mat in with the map centered. Ta-da! Framed Map Art for less than $40 in ten minutes.
