DIY Round World Map Sign

This round world map sign turned out to be a late addition to the list of nursery DIY projects.

Initially, I wanted to order a map to hang above the changing table. The company actually makes mural wallpaper, but I asked for a quote for poster size. It was about $35. I wasn’t finding anything else quite as perfect- this had alllllll the colors I wanted that I thought would really tie the room together.

However, the closer it got to the time to actually pull the trigger and order the poster, I became hesitant. $35 wasn’t crazy outrageous considering that pretty much anything I purchased in that size would be in that price range. However, I didn’t love that I would need to figure out a way to frame it to keep it from looking like a poster on a wall.

My wheels started turning and I started googling. One thing I came across was a ROUND world map sign. I thought to myself, “self, you could make that”.

And now, here we are!

I started with a 24″ diameter table top round from Lowe’s. It cost me $19.

To stain it, I watered down a mix of some acrylic paints. I could have stained it, but the avoid the fumes and curing time, I opted for this method.

This color was equal parts of the nutmeg brown and truffle color with just a glob of the elephant grey. I added a touch of water (the cup above shows how much I started with) and I used a sponge brush to apply. Viola!

I found a free image on the ol’ Google and used it to create a stencil with my Cricut out of contact paper.

Once I applied the contact paper, I smoothed the edges with a layer of Mod Podge before I painted. This helped to seal up the stencil and prevent bleeding.

I decided to add the word “explore” to the sign. This cut out cardboard word was a Target dollar spot find that I had picked up a few months ago. I thought id add it somewhere in the nursery but didn’t know where. It started as a light sky blue which didn’t mesh with my color scheme.

I just painted it the color I wanted and applied it to the sign with some hot glue.