DIY World map wall art that is easy to make and unique

Create this simple DIY World Map Wall art that is perfect for a modern and elegant look. I include a step by step tutorial with easy instructions and photos.

This DIY world map wall art is always a conversation starter in my house now! Everyone who visits stops to say how they love it and I am sure you will love it too!

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SUPPLIES FOR THIS PROJECT:

To make this DIY world map wall art you will need:

• A large canvas- 30 by 40 inches in size or a size that is appropriate for your home. Look for sales at your local art stores to get a great price on these.
• A World Cork Map. Unfortunately, the one that I used is no longer made, but this one looks like a close match. Just make sure that the cork map is the right size for the canvas you plan to use.
• Gold Leaf sheets, this is the main star of the show. If you have not used Gold leaf sheets before it is very easy and slightly addictive. You might want to gold leaf everything you own after this.
• To adhere the Gold foiling, you can either use the recommended Speedball Metal Leaf Adhesive or a general spray adhesive like this Elmers Craft Bond one also will work.
• You will definitely need this Speedball Mona Lisa Water-Based Sealer For Metal Leafing Projects to protect your gold layer. It looks like a tiny bottle, but it is more than enough!
• Gold Acrylic paint. I am using this Liquitex BASICS gold tube.
• Paintbrushes- a sponge one and a regular square edge one.

HOW TO MAKE IT:

The World Map I am using here has all the continents of the world cut out of cork. It’s premade and perfect for this project! You can also use a laser cut wood map or even stack a few layers of laser cut paper in the map shape.

I painted the edges of each continent with Gold acrylic paint. I did not dilute my paint with water so it just needed one single coat.

 It’s time for the Gold Leafing. On cork, I recommend using a spray adhesive (instead of regular Gold Leaf adhesive) The spray adhesive covers large areas quickly and remains tacky enough for you to adhere the Gold Leaf.

Spray generous amounts of the adhesive and let it sit for 30 seconds. Next place an entire sheet of Gold Leafing onto it. This stuff is really delicate so be gentle while lifting it out of the packaging. Make sure you don’t sneeze close to it or have a fan running. Work away from Air conditioning vents as well.

Using a dry sponge brush, gently press the leafing down to adhere onto the cork.

Cover all of the cork pieces with the gold leafing and then adhere them all onto the canvas. I didn’t prime or paint the canvas, simply because I love the white. You could of course paint the entire canvas light blue to represent the ocean.

There will be some small areas of the cork where the gold leafing wouldn’t have adhered completely. That is fine, I really like the cracked effect seen here. You might have big spots where the gold leaf hasn’t adhered at all, and in such areas, paint a small amount of white glue (that has been thinned out with a bit of water) and add small pieces of gold leafing on top.

By white glue, I mean you can use any white liquid glue you have on hand-  I used this Tacky glue. This tacky glue was also used to adhere all the cork continent pieces onto the canvas. I wouldn’t trust the adhesive backing on the cork map.

 Everything needs to dry for 12 hours or overnight and then using a dry brush, gently brush off the excess gold leafing.
Finish off the wall art piece by applying two coats of sealer onto the gold leafed areas. I’ve had this art piece on my wall for atleast 3 years now and nothing has faded, discolored or fallen off.

ALL DONE:

Ta da!!! This DIY world map wall art is ready to be hung on your wall. According to me anything covered with Gold Leafing is stunning, am I right? This one turned out to be the perfect DIY for our home. 

There is no way my camera can do justice to how shimmery this wall art piece is in real life. It catches the light everytime and is a statement piece in our home. 

Read all of my previous blog posts of DIY Wall Art Decor items here