I saw a cute idea some time back and thought I would try and create my own version for my son to hang on his door…a little “welcome home” gift when he returns from camp today! The wall art that inspired me was an image revealed within a graphic shape…hard to explain in words! But no matter, I’ll visually share with you my version…instead of a shape, I decided to use a name…and the image coming through the letters would be part of a world map. Since my son was coming home from his long overseas visit to China I thought it would be so great to feature this portion of the map…not just art for his room but a remembrance of his travels! So I’m keeping it short today so I can run to the airport with much anticipation of hearing all the wonderful stories of his adventures! Take a peek at this fun project waiting for him at home!
what’s hiding behind his name…
not knowing exactly how this project (that i briefly saw) was actually made…i had to do some guess work! i bought a small frame, a map, and some paper letters to spell out his name.
had to make sure that my letters would all fit…
this map of the world was only $5.99 (at Target) and the perfect background for my project.
i covered the cardboard backing from the frame with the portion of the map that included China. really easy–just wrap it up tight like a present! and even though i have the letters of my son’s name laying out of order here…never fear…i did ultimately spell his name correctly!
i used the paper letters and layed out his name on the inside of the glass. i needed to spray the backside so when it was all put back together the paint on the glass would obscure all portions of the map except for the name. this required me to lay the letters out backwards! and in order to keep the letters tight to the glass so the paint wouldn’t seep in, i used some stencil adhesive. if you’ve ever stenciled before you know how great this spray adhesive is! just enough “stick” to hold your stencil in place but light enough to lift off with ease! it was great for the paper letters that wanted to curl a bit.
then i gave the glass a good coating of spray paint. i chose ivory paint for the base coat and then topped it with a textured stone spray. you can’t see it well but this actually gave it a bit of a distressed & mottled effect behind the glass–something i thought would look good in his room! i carefully removed the letters from the back & placed it over the map inside the frame…
and revealed what’s behind his name!
welcome home world traveler!