Hanging a big map, vintage style
Remember when I couldn’t find a frame big enough for my new 50″ X 32″ wall map, but then I found these nifty solutions? Here’s how I created a vintage school-type look for my wall map. Much cheaper than buying an enormous frame, this project costs about $15, including the $10 map.
Step 1: Grab your map. You can find big beautiful maps at any bookstore. We found a Rand Mcnally “Classic Edition” map at Portland’s Powell Books that was designed with a tasteful, pale and aged-looking color palette. We also bought 2 more real vintage maps at San Francisco’s Green Apple Books. Here’s one of them below:
Step 1 - Grab map (vintage map from green apple books)
Step 2: Gather your supplies
2 pieces of lattice wood – I got 52″ pieces for my 50″ wide world map so I’d have an inch overhang on either side.
2 screw eyes – Make sure they’re very small so they don’t split your wood. I got 5/8″
Box of thumbtacks – Any drug store will have em
Butchers twine – Any drug or hardware store will have it
Things from home – Glue, tape measure, pen, hammer
Step 2: Gather your supplies
Step 3: Glue the wood to the map. Lay the map out on the floor, face up, and place the lattice wood on top – one piece along the top border and one along the bottom. Make sure the wood hangover on each side is even then glue the wood down in place. Flip it over and paint more glue on the outside of the paper (especially on the edges) so it’s super secure.
Step 3: Glue down the lattice wood
Step 4: Hammer thumbtacks through back side of map along the flat rod.
Step 4: Hammer thumbtacks
(If the wood is thin like mine, don’t quite hammer all the way or the tips of the tacks may pierce through the front slightly. In this case, just leave a slight gap between the tack and the wood.)
Step 4b: Leave a slight gap
Step 5: Measure center of top frame then mark 2 even spaces on either side of the center mark. My center point was 26 inches and I marked 8 inches out from either side of that point.
Step 5: Measure center point
Step 6: Screw your screw eyes into the top of the lattice wood on each of your marks. Be careful not to split the thin wood with your screw. If you see a very slight split, you can place some wood glue over it and it should keep it from splitting further.
Step 6: Screw in screw eyes
Step 7: Thread your twine through each screw eye, make secure knots, and hang!
Step 7: Thread twine and hang
Step 8: Place cute dog next to it.
Step 8: Add dog
mosey 