Pinterest Challenge - Chalk Board Map!

Since Sherry & Katie started the Pinterest Challege over a year ago, I've been wanting to participate. I just didn't have the time...until now!  Ok, I lied, I still didn't have the "extra" time, but I made it happen because this project just had me so darn excited!

Anywhoo...a couple of months ago I pinned a picture of a chalkboard map from Terrain.  (I can't seem to find the map on their website anymore...it was there last week I swear!)  After hearing about the new edition of the Pinterest Challenge, I immediately googled "Chalkboard Map" & came up with a few other inspiration pieces.  (Links below.)

1. Chalkboard map at Terrain. (Can't find it?)  Update: found the link!
2. Vintage Rand McNally Chalkboard map.  Several results on google search.
3. Chalkboard map from Smile & Wave.
4. Military map from Restoration Hardware. (No longer available.)

Ok, so after I collected my inspiration pictures, I decided that I wanted a green "chalkboard" with the water painted a different color...most similar to the vintage Rand McNally map.  I started out by purchasing a yard & a half of heavy duty duckcloth (canvas) & a Sharpie paint marker at Joann, as well as green chalkboard paint from Menards.  I also sketched out a map in Illustrator, which I then converted to B&W & printed on a transparency.  Instead of trying to draw out the whole US freehand (nightmare), I can just shine the image onto the canvas using my overhead projector - easy peasy!

Here are a few of my illustrations...if you want to download a free .pdf of any of them, just click on the links below!  All I ask in return is that you go out & vote in November!  ;)

Links to the Green map, white map, black map.  My gift to you, fellow Americans!  :)

My little helper had fun coloring in all of the states.  He can now pick out Minnesota & California 90% of the time.  Hopefully his new map will help him learn the others!

After I determined the approximate size I wanted the map to be (it's big...52ish inches wide by 48ish inches tall), I cut it to size & hemmed up the two sides.  I left the top & bottom edges raw as I planned to staple them to wood dowels later.  No sense finishing them off only to have them get covered up!  I just folded each side twice so the hem was around an inch wide & sewed(?) two seams on each one, about 1/4" from each edge, if that makes sense at all. 

Grady stripped down to his skivvies & helped me prime this big sucker.  Isn't his shadow creepy with the giant furry head & tiny arm?!  It reminds me of a fetus with hair.  I'm weird, I know...I hear it every day!  :)

Next up, we took it into the kitchen to paint a couple of coats of green Rustoleum chalkboard paint.

The puckers in the fabric had me a little nervous, but things smoothed out (literally & figuratively) after we hung it on the wall to trace everything out!

After two coats of the green dried overnight, I taped the canvas back to the wall, lined up the projector where I wanted it, & traced out the map with my paint marker.  (At this point I didn't worry about getting the white perfect, I knew I'd be painting over some of it with the "water" color, & having to touch it up anyway, so I decided to wait & do the second coat/tracing all at once at the end.)

The paint marker dried really quickly, so I was able to crank out two coats of the "water" pretty much right away.  I kept going back & forth on what color to use, & ultimately decided on using some charcoal gray paint that I had on hand.  It ended up looking a little more brown than gray (lighting?), but I'm super happy with it!

After the two coats of charcoal, I traced over all of the white outline again to make it a little bit more opaque.  I also had my dad cut a couple of pieces of scrap wood to create a top & bottom to the map.  On the bottom section, I had him router out a ledge to store a few pieces of chalk - love it!  I stained the top & bottom supports with some leftover stain from the breakfast bar on the porch & stapled the canvas to the back of them.  Then I just attached some picture hangers & hung it on the wall!

Ta-da!  I wanted to take a photo of the whole dining room, but the sun was hardly up before I left for work this morning so I just didn't have enough light!  I'll try to update with a full room shot tomorrow!

I can't wait to plot out roadtrips, play "name-that-state" with Grady, & doodle national landmarks!  Plus, I finally have a giant piece of "art" to fill that empty space on the dining room wall!  Thank you Katie & Sherry for getting me motivated!!!

Update: I snuck home over lunch & conditioned the map by rubbing chalk all over it and wiping off.  She's ready to rock!

I'm liking it after rubbing the chalk all over it...it has a nice patina now!

And of course, the room shot I promised...