DIY Framed Vintage Map & Ikea Frame Hack

So who doesn't love vintage maps???  I absolutely love vintage maps and globes, it's like holding a piece of history in your hands.  When I was browsing a yard sale facebook page one day I found an ad selling vintage maps.  The seller had stacks of maps, all of different parts of the world and different eras.  She was only asking about $10 per map-- what a steal!!  So I messaged her and jumped in my car (luckily the seller lived only about 5 minutes away from me) and ended up buying two maps.  I bought an old US map as well as an old world map.  Now what to do with the maps besides just tack them on the wall?  The world map was from a National Geographic Magazine from 1957- pretty fun!  I wanted to display the world map in my living room and after brainstorming, I decided to cut the map up and frame it.

Supplies needed to re-create your own version:

1. Vintage map

2. White Ikea Ribba frames 

3. Gold spray paint

4. Cutting mat and rotary roller

How to:

First measure what you need for each frame.  You will most likely waste some of the map.  The world map I used was wide enough but not tall enough to completely fill the frames, so I ended up cutting some off of another map and connecting it to the top of this map (see above).  Even though it is different I still feel like it flows pretty well

My map was BIG.  Too big to use a scrapbooking paper cutter.  So I ended up using my sewing cutting mat and rotary roller and just measured and cut up the map.  It was defiantly the easiest option.  I then place heavy books on the map for a few days to attempt to get the creases out of it.  It worked somewhat but in the end I decided the creases didn't really bother me and so I went ahead and used them as is.  

Next, spray paint the Ikea frames.  There are so many different gold spray paints out there that it can be overwhelming to know what to buy.  Some are way too metallic or just not right.  This is the BEST gold spray pain I have found.  Design Master antique gold.  I purchased this at Micheal's Craft. 

Once the frames are sprayed and dried, you can frame your map!  And the masterpiece is complete!  All you need to do now is just measure and make sure your frames are level and equal distances from each other on the wall, and then hang.  I hope this inspires those who need ideas of what to do with old maps!  Let me know if you have any questions!