“You Are Here”

I recently saw another blogger knock off some map art from an Etsy shop.  She took 6 blocks of canvas painted on her map and then pulled them apart for an amazing effect.  So I lifted the idea but did it on a single canvas since all those little ones can add up!
Slowly but surely my sons room is becoming more than a dresser and a mattress on the floor.  Okay well the mattress is still on the floor but not for long!  Sorry baby, mommy promises to build you a bed soon =)  Ah who am I kidding?  He’s a ten yr. old boy (almost), he doesn’t care!



I just bought my first projector.  It’s the cheapo Tracer you can get from the local hobby stores.  It’s affordable and does the job but it’s by no means an advanced piece of equipment if you know what I mean.  You have to use this in a completely dark space.  I mean not a speck of light shining through or you can’t see your image.  I tried it in a room with the shades drawn.  I tried it in the bathroom which has only a doorway but no windows.  Nope.  Here is where I ended up setting up my project.  In the master closet.  Oh yes, the things us crafters do! 
“Hello, my name is Sommer.  And I’m a closet tracer.
”


But I have to say other than this little inconvenience it did a great job.  You’ll need a book or board to stabilize the projector.  It’s a little wonky on the carpet and your image doesn’t sit strait.  The pencil marks are light intentionally so if you don’t already wear glasses click the image for a closer look.





The boy’s room will be tan, black, grey and white.  So I used my free sample of Vintage Grey from Valspar for this project.  Lovin it!



I will say hind site is 20/20.  I wasn’t sure which would be the more simple route.  To paint it all grey and trace then fill in the white areas.  Or to trace then paint the grey around all the white areas.  Well at first it was totally indifferent.  But when it came time to paint AROUND all those microscopic islands I realized, the first path would have been easier. 
I’m sad to say while doing this part my son was playing the roll of foreman and informed me “Mom you just painted over an island!”.  Damn tsunami’s!
Then as I was cutting in the polar caps and they started getting smaller and smaller we chalked that one off to global warming.  So is it a perfect “to scale” map?  Um, no.  But it’s damn close and we both love it and had a great time making it. 

~Sommer

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