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You are here: Home / homeschool / By Subject / Art & Music / DIY Map Art: Upcycle a Puzzle

DIY Map Art: Upcycle a Puzzle

This project combines a lot of things I love — maps, upcycling, paint, chevron, burlap, and bold color.

I turned a 50 cent yard sale puzzle from this…

map-puzzle-before

…into this!

DIY map art up cycled puzzle @4onemore.com

 

And you can do it too!  Yard sale season is here, and you’re bound to find some sorry little puzzles that just need a good upcycle.

DIY map art @4onemore.com

 

Gather your supplies.  Here’s what you will need:

DIY map art up cycled puzzle @4onemore.com

 

Step 1:  Paint over your entire puzzle with spray paint with primer for excellent coverage.  It took 3-4 thin coats for the black words on my puzzle to get covered completely.  I used a spray paint with built-in primer.

map puzzle step 1

map puzzle 2

map puzzle 3

Step 2:  Prep your backing.  I used a $2 frame from a flea market.  It had backing, but no glass.  You could also use scrap wood, or the hard cardboard insert from a cast-off frame.  Anything will do, as long as it’s large enough for your puzzle.  You can always “pretty it up” a bit.
If your background piece needs some added charm, you can paint a simple design on it with acrylic paint, as I did.  First, I used spray adhesive to attach my burlap to the frame backing.  Once it was dry, I used this free template to make my own chevron stencil.
DIY map puzzle @4onemore.com
DIY map puzzle @4onemore.com
Step 3:  Paint your frame (if you’re using one).  I also used primer & spray paint for this.  It was an easy, quick way to add a great pop of color to the piece.  Consider coordinating or contrasting your frame color & puzzle color.
map puzzle 6
Step 4:  Adhere the puzzle pieces to your backing.
map puzzle 7
Set your puzzle pieces out on the backing to line them up the way you want them.  Start gluing with the center piece to keep your whole map lined up correctly.
map puzzle 8
And you’re done!  This has been a great piece to add some fun color to my house.
DIY map art @4onemore.com
DIY map art @4onemore.com
DIY map art @4onemore.com
My Price Breakdown:
{Total Cost:  less than $10}
Frame $2.00
Wooden puzzle $.50
Spray paint, preferably with primer $3.47
Burlap (optional) $2.98/yard
Acrylic Paint  $.56
And you’ve probably noticed that I still have the empty puzzle board left.
map puzzle 12
You can actually make a second DIY art piece out of that!  What would you do?

 

 

 

DIY Map Art: Upcycle a Puzzle

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Art & Music, Home & Family

Hi! I'm Abby - a former classroom teacher turned homeschooling mom of 5. You're in the right place if you want to be inspired, encouraged, and equipped to homeschool confidently. You can do it! Read More…

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