My Map of the World is finished! Here is a recap of how it developed through different stages.

Stage 1: Applying the base color.

Stage 2: Creating the coastlines.

Stage 3: Highlighting the elevations.

Stage 4: Starting over!

(A typical step in my creative process…)

I painted over Stage 3 entirely! I just wasn’t happy with it… it needed more contrast. So I decided the best way to do that was to add more dark shades to the bottom layers.

Stage 5: Detailing…

From here, it underwent several more stages of shading and detailing until I was happy with it…

Stage 124 (or so it seemed!): Finishing. Three coats of polyurethane and my project is sealed and sheened. Now all that’s left to do is peel back the detailing tape (I took great pleasure in doing this)…

Final Finished Project: Ta-Daaa! 

And it’s done! The Map of the World will be an integral piece to our “Things That Go/Places You’ll Go” theme for AJ’s Big Boy Room. 🙂

Taking a step back… not sure what it needs, but it’s coming along!

So for the Big Boy Room I decided to paint a topographic map (ie: a map showing elevations and land formations)… A little bold? Probably. A bit of a challenge? Definitely!

For the base color, I chose a navy blue.  I used some very thin painters tape (only about 1/8″ wide) to chalk off the crevices where the planks come together. This will add a nice detail to the finished project.

Next I used a wide bristle brush to add the second layer, which is very close to a standard primary blue. The navy base color will now serve as the coastlines.

With the easy part done, from here I will mix lighter and darker shades of blue to create the land formations… I am not entirely sure how this is going to work out as I have never really attempted something like this before… but it should be interesting!

Stay tuned 🙂

Working on a map of the world idea for AJ’s new room. The “Things That Go” theme has evolved to include “Oh The Places You’ll Go.” I like the direction this is going, so I’ve decided to expand on this. My wooden plank backdrop is about 2ft x 3ft. I have some vision on this piece so bare with me!

P.S. There is nothing more heart-warming than doing a craft like this while watching AJ on the video monitor. He’s just waking up from his nap… rolling around in his bed. Talking to his stuffed friends, rehearsing every word he knows in his sing song voice…

So very sweet. With this piece, I hope to capture an element of the colorful world he lives in.

Found these letter blocks at a rummage sale- How Perfect! A little paint… and presto! I’ve found a fun way to incorporate a quote from my favorite children’s book author into our theme and onto our wall 🙂

And here is everything finished and framed!

I do have a few more things I’d like to make for the walls to really tie it all together… stay tuned!

Here it is! The final component to our series of “Things That Go” pictures. Our Big Boy Room is starting to come together!

Boat done! One more to complete our Big Boy Room theme.

We now have a Whoosh to add to our Vroom and our Toot!