These practical and creative uses for old maps will have you hauling out your stash to get started on one or more of our DIY ideas here!
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In this article:
- DIY Vintage Map Coasters
- Vintage Map Bangle
- Glass Map Necklace
- DIY Globe Garland
- Wood Pallet Map
- Map Gift Tags
- Ephemera Pots Project
- DIY Map Wall Initial with Toy Car
- Old Road Map Cork Board
- Map Platter
- Mint Tin Upcycled Mini Album
- DIY Little Map Table
- Map Heart Garland
- Vintage Modern Map Lamp
- Cool Map Shoes
- Shiny Map Magnets
- DIY Map Tray
- DIY Decoupage Map
- Map Desk
- Vintage Wooden Games
- Map Binder Clips
- Pottery Barn Covered Candle Knock Off
- Map Picture Frame
- Map Rings
- DIY Paper Wallet
- DIY Travel Tape
- Love Canvas
- DIY Map Wreath
- The Map Dresser
- Vintage Map Wrapping Paper
- Map Covered Shelf Organizing Boxes
- IKEA Map Clock
Chic and Clever Uses for Old Maps That DIY Junkies Love
Turn Your Old Maps Stash into New Crafts
I’m sure at one point in your school life, your history or geography teacher had asked you to bring a map to class. If you’re like me who has a hard time letting go of a lot of stuff, you probably still have it stored somewhere.
Do you also have old road maps lying around and don’t know what to do with them? If you travel a lot and collected quite a few maps from these trips, I have great ideas for recycling them.
If they’re only creating clutter, you should upcycle those maps into beautiful craft projects. I’ve made this roundup of cool DIY projects using old maps, so let’s get crafting!
1. DIY Vintage Map Coasters
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This is a great DIY coaster idea for people who want to travel a lot. Personalize it to whatever country or state you want to visit or have visited.
2. Vintage Map Bangle
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A cool bangle from old maps, I want one! I’m wearing this chic map bangle on my next travel for sure.
3. Glass Map Necklace
Have a place close to your heart? Keep it closer by making a DIY necklace out of it.
4. DIY Globe Garland
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This DIY garland will be perfect for a going away party. A complementary decoration idea you can easily make.
5. Wood Pallet Map
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Are you in the mood for a little wall art with pallets? Create this DIY art from an old map!
6. Map Gift Tags
Tag your gifts with these creative map gift tags. This is another simple and super-easy way to use old maps.
We recommend you add colored eyelets to your tag holes for a nifty and pretty finish.
7. Ephemera Pots Project
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Organize and style your ordinary pots by decoupaging them with some old pieces of maps. These map decoupage projects, including this Ephemera pots project, make interesting decor pieces and holders for pencils and crafting thingamajigs.
8. DIY Map Wall Initial with Toy Car
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Mod Podge and old maps make this personalized decor project for yours or your kid’s room.
9. Old Road Map Cork Board
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Give your plain cork boards an upgrade with this DIY idea. With your old road maps from your travels, you get to enshrine your travels and decorate your home at the same time.
10. Map Platter
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An interesting platter you can use for almost anything. Use it to serve your guests or keep your keys and pieces of jewelry in it.
11. Mint Tin Upcycled Mini Album
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Store all your precious memories in this cute mint tin upcycled mini album. Keep them close anywhere you go.
12. DIY Little Map Table
Spruce up your home by decorating with old maps. This little map table will look absolutely amazing in your bedroom.
13. Map Heart Garland
This map heart garland is a super easy craft project with maps. Draw the cutest heart patterns on your map, then cut out.
You will use overlapping heart cutouts for a 3D effect. Use either another sheet of a map or clear colored plastic sheets for crafting.
Take a nylon thread and sew right in the middle of the heart cutouts. Sew as many as you can or your desired length of a garland.
14. Vintage Modern Map Lamp
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Make a DIY vintage modern map lamp from a lamp kit. It’s a fun project and one of the most interesting things to do with maps.
15. Cool Map Shoes
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Do a shoe makeover with some mod podge and old maps. First, make sure you have clean canvass shoes to work on and a light paper map to work with.
Apply decoupage on your shoes and finish with several coats of water sealer if you need to. This is indeed a cool way to reuse old maps.
RELATED: 25 Impressive Ways To Reuse Wine Corks
16. Shiny Map Magnets
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If you’re tired of the usual store-bought magnets, make a batch of these shiny map magnets. They’re so easy to make!
17. DIY Map Tray
Give your wooden tray a makeover with a little spray paint and a cut-out old map.
18. DIY Decoupage Map
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It is possible to run out of old maps. It may be the case for this craft project, so what to do?
You can print and blow up map pages for this awesome knock off.
19. Map Desk
Make your DIY map desk the only thing you need to go to where you’re going.
20. Vintage Wooden Games
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Make your own DIY game by following the steps on this easy tutorial.
21. Map Binder Clips
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Are you bored with the usual black binder clips? It’s just so flat and black.
Why not make it your next DIY project to add some color to it.
22. Pottery Barn Covered Candle Knock Off
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Want those candles from Pottery Barn so bad? Make them yourself with some mod podge and this easy tutorial.
We’ve got a BIG list of pottery barn hacks that will up your #homedecor game at a great price http://t.co/LB0heuu63y pic.twitter.com/KaIkOp0flu
— DIY Projects (@DIY Projects) April 27, 2015
23. Map Picture Frame
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This DIY mod podge map picture frame would be a great gift idea for a loved one. If you still remember the place where you first met, map it in a frame.
24. Map Rings
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For your traveler friend or for a friend who tends to get lost. This is a cool jewelry idea you can make in a flash.
25. DIY Paper Wallet
If you have 5 minutes, you can make this cool wallet from an old map. Note, this is not good for everyday use but an awesome idea to store your gifts like money and gift cards.
26. DIY Travel Tape
This DIY travel tape is another really cool project using old maps. Take your regular tape to a whole new level.
27. Love Canvas
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A romantic gift for him or her. Show your boo how much you care even from far away with this creative DIY!
28. DIY Map Wreath
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If you can cut it, you can make a wreath out of it. There’s nothing more colorful than a map, why not make it a wreath?
29. The Map Dresser
Make a statement with this really cool idea on how to revamp your dresser.
30. Vintage Map Wrapping Paper
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This must be the easiest way you can repurpose your old maps. Turn them into gift wrappers for your family and friends who love to travel!
31. Map Covered Shelf Organizing Boxes
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Looking to organize your cluttered DIY crafts and materials? Hit two birds with one stone by using your old maps stash to decorate your storage boxes.
32. IKEA Map Clock
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Here’s an IKEA hack you can make using old maps. Turn a plain-looking wall clock into a work of art.
We love these uses for old maps, but how about globes? Check out these cool ideas to repurpose globes in this video from J.o.h.n Ideas:
Now you know there are tons of ways for you to reuse old maps. Now, you can also start getting rid of the old maps cluttering your attic or basement.
But, with these fun projects, I’m pretty sure you will start collecting maps if you don’t have much in store. So, have fun making your own version of these cool crafts and projects!
Which of these DIY ideas and uses for old maps is making it to your to-do list? Let us know in the comments section below!
Up Next:
- 17 Creative DIY Nightstands | Bedroom Decorating Ideas
- From Junk To Treasure | 9 DIY Projects To Repurpose Old Stuff
- DIY Wind Chimes | A Dazzling Silverware Wind Chime Tutorial
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 19, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
There are some awesome ideas here. I’ve seen a lot of paper wallets (#25) in souvenir, gallery and museum gift shops lately actually, they seem pretty popular! I’ll have to give the DIY wallet a go. It would definitely be an upgrade when gifting someone money or a store card, and it’d save a few pennies too. Thanks for the round up!